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The Amanpour audience passionately commented on the interview Christiane shared with Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, whose secular Iraqiya party won a two-seat majority in the March parliamentary elections. Most viewers felt that Mr. Allawi’s expressed “hope” for a coalition government that could be formed quickly, was a “nice statement” but unfeasible to attain. The majority wished for a peaceful outcome.
What are your thoughts? Please share your thoughts with us! In addition, if you missed the show go to http://www.amanpour.com for more information.
Below, you will see some opinions from viewers like yourself. We would love to hear what you think.
Facebook Comments
Labaran Musa It does not matter who rules Iraqi, what matters is the ability for 'him'to deliver peace and security to the people of Iraqi. May God help Iraqi.
Kenneth Adedamola Ologbenla Let the government and the people of Iraq think about peace and stop this senseless killing of the innocent people. We need peace in the entire world.
Allawi aims to quickly form Iraqi government
By Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.
(CNN) - Hours after insurgents killed dozens of people on Tuesday in a new wave of bomb attacks in Baghdad, former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said he hopes to soon form a new government after claiming victory in the March 7 ballot.
"We need the (election) results to be officially announced by the Supreme Court, and then I guess it will take us in the range of two months to form ... I hope to form ... a government," Allawi told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
Allawi said he believes his Iraqiya bloc, which has a narrow two-seat lead in parliament over his main rival, has the right to form the next government under the country's constitution. Iraqiya won 91 seats and current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of the Law coalition won 89 seats, according to the provisional election results.
"We can't just have a national unity government, a government which has been stagnant as the current government has been," he said. "We need to have a government that can function and can provide, especially for the security of this country."
His comments came amid new concerns that security in Iraq is beginning to unravel in what many say is a political vacuum following the elections.
Insurgents exploded at least seven bombs in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing more than 30 people and wounding 140 others. It was the latest in a series of attacks that have killed more than 100 people in five days.
"I expected this violence, especially after the elections, because there is a vacuum, and there is indeed a constitutional vacuum at this time," Allawi said. "And indeed the terrorists and groups who are linked to terrorism would find the political environment useful for them to start damaging and inflicting more damage on the Iraqi people."
Former U.S. National Security Council official Brett McGurk said Iraq has not seen any signposts of real deterioration despite the upsurge in violence.
"We haven't seen militias take to the streets to protect neighborhoods," he said. "We've not seen the ministries stand down, things we started to see in 2006."
Allawi said the success of his bloc in the elections showed that the Iraqi people were fed up with sectarianism.
"They want to see a secular country with a professional, functional government, and they want to get out of the bottleneck that we are in now," he said.
He rejected the arguments of critics who say Allawi's bloc is a front organization for former Baathists who served in the Saddam Hussein regime.
"The Baath .. are finished. It's ended. We are in a new era," he said.
See more of Amanpour's coverage online
Allawi said he was talking to other political parties about the formation of a new government coalition - including supporters of the influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose followers won some 40 seats in parliament.
"The Sadrists are welcome to join it," he said. "We are talking to them already. And the discussions are progressing well."
Allawi said there was a big difference between political supporters of al-Sadr and its once powerful Jaish al-Mahdi militia.
The former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, said he was not concerned about the potential role of al-Sadr's supporters in a coalition government.
Crocker said: "The Sadrists have always had an appeal to the dispossessed urban Shia populations, and they finally found a way to get their act together sufficiently to garner a respectable number of seats."
"But clearly they are not going to form a government," he said. "They may be instrumental in the government's formation, but they're going to have to be part of the give-and-take of Iraqi politics as well."
Crocker, however, said he believed Allawi was being overly optimistic when he said he could form a government in two months.
"I think a more realistic deadline is the beginning of Ramadan at the start of August," Crocker said. "So I worry about a decision to have us down to 50,000 (American) troops perhaps in the same month that a new government is formed."
Crocker was referring to the planned withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of August, leaving a residual force of 50,000 troops until a final U.S. withdrawal scheduled for the end of 2011.
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 ask what the upcoming presidential elections in Sudan will mean for the 2005 breakthrough agreement that ended a civil war that brought a measure of peace between north and south after the deaths of two million people. If President Omar al-Bashir ends up back in power, will he try to stop a referendum on independence for the south from taking place next year? Will these elections be free and fair, and what’s at stake for the international community and the people of Sudan? Sudan is just one of the stories making headlines today. Here are some perspectives.
– Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.
SUDAN – Is the credibility of the first multi-party elections in more than two decades now in question?
– Ex-rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement extends its boycott of next week’s elections, saying it is pulling out of parliamentary and local races in the country’s northern provinces. SPLM accusing government of rigging poll
– SPLM decision follows its announcement last week that it’s also withdrawing its candidate from the national presidential race
– Elections are a crucial step in the north-south peace deal that ended a 21-year-old civil war between north and south, and paved the way for a referendum on whether the south should secede from Sudan
QUESTION: Should the elections be delayed to allow Sudan’s political rivals to work out their differences before a vote?
And now your feedback
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The Amanpour audience candidly exchanged points of view regarding Russia’s effort to crush the roots of separatism. Reform was thought to be needed by most, while the minority felt this was not an “issue of reform” but “political propaganda.” Overall, people debated about individual ideologies, human rights and law enforcement and pointed that Russia’s rejection of democracy and capitalism after a decade, “drove” the country to its actual condition.
What are your thoughts? Please share your thoughts with us! In addition, if you missed the show go to http://www.amanpour.com for more information.
Below, you will see some opinions from viewers like yourself. We would love to hear what you think.
Facebook Comments
Dmitry Koublitsky
I'm afraid there's way too many people on both sides who're interested in keeping the conflict on.
Ahmed Azzamy
Reform is highly needed to manage to combat insurgency. Russians must do more in this regard.
The Last Jews of Baghdad
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0hX7M7nIwc&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Observers: Corruption hits Russian security
By Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.
(CNN) - On the day a suicide bomber killed two police officers in the Russian republic of Ingushetia, a leading independent journalist in Moscow said the Kremlin will never defeat terrorism if it does not end corruption in law enforcement agencies.
"There is a fundamental problem that doesn't allow Russia to fight terrorism, and that's the awful corruption of the law enforcement forces in Russia," said Yevgenia Albats, chief editor of Russia's New Times magazine. She spoke Monday on CNN's "Amanpour" program.
Albats said Vladimir Putin, then Russia's president and now prime minister, promised democracy in exchange for security back in 2000, but the result was neither democracy nor security.
The bomb in Ingushetia killed two police officers and wounded four others outside a police station in the town of Karabulak. It was the latest in a string of attacks in the North Caucasus region of Russia that have followed a March 29 double suicide bombing on the Moscow subway system.
The Moscow bombing killed at least 40 people and wounded more than 60. A former Chechen rebel who is now advocating global jihad has claimed responsibility for that attack.
And now your feedback
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The Amanpour audience openly discussed some notorious world issues. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei caused controversy and thought to be “disrespectful” to China according to some of the viewers. Viewers felt that Weiwei “was lucky to be alive” according to the way he chose to continuously express himself. Additionally, the conversation with actor Ben Affleck about Eastern Congo proved popular. Viewers commented Congo needed public awareness. Lastly, the Rwanda crisis continued to be of concern among the majority of viewers who felt President Paul Kagame “was the cause” of Rwanda’s “calamities.” The minority thought Rwanda’s economy was recuperating and it would “come afloat eventually.”
What are your thoughts? Please share your thoughts with us! In addition, if you missed the show go to http://www.amanpour.com for more information.
Below, you will see some opinions from viewers like yourself. We would love to hear what you think.
Email Comments
Dear Ms Amanpour,
I caught that interview with Al Weiwei. You know HE (Al Weiwei) is without TRUST & REPSECT for his country & really teaches people to mis-behave! Really he is lucky to be alive and I am on the side of China here! If online advertising companies and other outsiders continue to allow others to show dis-respect where trust can not grow, then peace can not be expected, because of the CODEPENDENCY that Al Weiwei shows, not free agency like he claims!!!!! Using free agency to the point of violence is not what this country is about and neither is China! And will lose China.... Trust & respect Al Weiwei needs to show his country!
Bye for now,
Deni
Blacklisted: CNN reporter deported from Myanmar – again
By Dan Rivers, CNN Corespondent
The military government has clearly been stung by some of my previous reporting from the country and I understood that I was on the notorious journalist "blacklist," which includes much of the Bangkok, Thailand-based press pack.
Perhaps before I explain what happened this time, I should explain my "past form" with the Junta.
When I first arrived in Bangkok in 2006, I was unknown to them. My first taste of the country many still call Burma, was in 2007 when our CNN team was officially invited to cover Armed Forces Day.
I was struck by the time-warp feeling that envelops you as you walk around the streets of Yangon, bereft of development as a result of Western sanctions, and, arguably the regime's own actions.
We covered the "set-piece" military parade in the new capital Naypyidaw, which felt more like the set of "The Truman Show." We also managed to film in a hospital in a small town outside of Yangon, and the scenes were pitiful and outrageous.
Myanmar spends less on health care than almost any other country on Earth, and it showed. After leaving, I understood that the authorities were incensed by my reporting at the hospital.
Later that year I was unable to report first hand on the pro-democracy rallies, dubbed the Saffron Revolution after the orange gowns of the monks who led the unrest. I was on air constantly from Bangkok, commentating on incredible footage emerging from citizen journalists among the crowds on the streets of Yangon. It would have no doubt further irritated the Junta.
But it was while covering the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in 2008, that I probably invoked the rage of the generals. CNN was one of the few western TV networks inside the country, and the only one to go live from the Irrawady Delta.
I felt strongly about the appalling scenes I was seeing and the obstruction of the Junta, which was blocking aid from getting to storm-ravaged areas. CNN decided to raise the profile of our coverage by allowing me to report on camera from inside the worst-affected areas.
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 legacy of the wars in Chechnya after the terror attacks on the Moscow subway network. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s hard-line position may win him support on the home front, but is it really possible to crush separatist movements in the North Caucasus without sweeping political reforms in the region? The North Caucasus is one of the stories making news today. Here are some perspectives.
Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.
RUSSIA – Is the North Caucasus region on the brink of a new explosion of violence?
– Suicide bomber kills at least two police officers and wounds four others in Russian republic of Ingushetia
– Bombing the latest in a series of attacks, including double bombing on Moscow subway that killed at least 39 people on March 29
– Analysts: radical Islamist rebels have broadened insurgency from Chechnya to entire North Caucasus region in recent years
QUESTION: Will Russian efforts to crush the insurgency have any lasting impact without political reforms to make regional governments in the North Caucasus more accountable to the people?
And now your feedback
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Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s statements on human rights provoked strong emotions on some among the Amanpour audience that participated through Email. It was commented the government was at fault for Rwanda’s current “plunging economy.” Additionally, the partial ban of the burqa in France generated commentary that fully supported this initiative. All viewers that participated felt this was “fair.” Twitter and Facebook viewers discussed the Serbia’s parliament massacre and while some thought that, the lawmaker’s apology was a “step toward healing” others disagreed and said “this wasn’t enough at all.”
What are your thoughts? Please share your thoughts with us! In addition, if you missed the show go to http://amanpour.com for more information.
Below, you will see some opinions from viewers like yourself. We would love to hear what you think.
Email Comments
Dear Amanpour,
I would like to comment about the genocide of DRCongo. Regarding your conversation with Ben Affleck.The roots of all 5millions killed in the genocide of DRCongo is the actual administration of Rwanda. Paul Kagame is the saurce of what is going on in Congo.Yes there are some responsabilities to the congolese army,and fdlr, but the magor saurce is Paul Kagame.The east of congo will still in trouble if Kagame's administration has not yet changed it strategy and hypocritical behavior.
Charles, TX
@camanpour on Twitter
