CNN Student News

Aired August 28, 2003

This is a rush transcript. This copy may not be in its final form and may be dated.

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: A statue of the ten commandments is moved from an Alabama Courthouse...we'll tell you what protesters plan to do about it. Handshakes and smiles...diplomats gear up for a challenging meeting with North Korea, about the country's potential nukes. And we'll hear an account of the last moments, of a renowned United Nations employee in Baghdad. Hello and welcome to CNN Student News on this Thursday, August 28th! I'm Susan Hendricks at the CNN Center.

First Up: Monumental Movement

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: First up--a monumental development in an issue involving states' rights and the resolve of an Alabama chief justice. Workers removed a massive statue of the Ten Commandments from a Montgomery courthouse on Wednesday -- almost a week after a federal court's deadline for it to be taken away. Justice Roy Moore faces ethics violations charges for not complying with that court order...but Eric Philips explains why supporters of the monument, aren't declaring defeat.

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ERIC PHILIPS, CNN REPORTER: It took three attempts, but workers at Alabama's state judicial building finally moved the two-and-a-half ton granite monument to a back room, despite crowds of protestors outside.

PROTESTOR: Put it back, they are tearing my country down!

PHILIPS: Emotions ran high in this crowd of supporters of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. He moved the Ten Commandments monument into the rotunda two years ago, sparking controversy and lawsuits. A federal judge ordered the removal of the statue by last Wednesday, but that was delayed by a combination of politics, protests and perhaps prayer.

PROTESTOR: As a pastor, I am appealing to you now, get on your knees and talk to God about this matter.

PHILIPS: Staunch supporters have been camping out for more that a week. For them and others, the removal of the monument was tough.

REV. DANIEL SPARKS, AGAINST MOVE: It is a failure for those of our justice system who have refused to give us justice.

PHILIPS: As the monument was moved, a few expressed satisfaction.

LARRY DARBY, AMERICAN ATHEISTS: It is a victory for all citizens of Alabama, it is a victory for the rule of law, it is a victory for the United States constitution.

PHILIPS: Alabama's governor and state attorney general supported the monument's installation two years ago, but not Moore's recent defiance of the law. Moore supporters insist the fight is not over.

REV. PAT MAHONEY, CHRISTIAN DEFENSE COALITION: We're not discouraged; we're people of faith. We're disappointed but not discouraged.

PHILIPS: For the CNN Student News, I'm Eric Philips.

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Word to the Wise

Proliferation: an increase in number by rapid production. (Source: www.m-w.com)

North Korea Nuclear Talks

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: The re-emergence of North Korea's nuclear program has been a hot-button issue in global politics since last year. It's evoked warnings from several countries and a U.N. citation for defying a treaty banning those weapons. Representatives from six countries are meeting in Beijing, China this week for talks aimed at eliminating North Korea's nuclear program. In addition to the U.S. and North Korea, Russia, China, South Korea and Japan also are taking part. And as Mike Chinoy tells us, they face a complicated task.

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MIKE CHINOY, CNN REPORTER: "Surrender means death." That was the defiant proclamation from North Korea as its negotiating team arrived in Beijing for talks where the stakes couldn't be any higher.

JON WOLFSTHAL, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT: If North Korea is left to its own devices, it will develop a large nuclear arsenal that could not only fuel nuclear proliferation in the region but globally, because they're prepared to sell nuclear weapons to others.

CHINOY: But as the delegates assembled for the talks, the U.S. side, led by Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, it's clear that resolving the crisis won't be easy.

JIA QINGGUO, CHINESE POLITICAL ANALYST: There is so much distrust and suspicion on the part of both sides.

CHINOY: The North Koreans have been rattled by a Bush administration that lumped the regime of Kim Jong Il with that of Saddam Hussein in the "Axis of Evil." They've demanded Washington agree to a non-aggression treaty before considering any nuclear concessions. The U.S., however, has consistently demanded Pyongyang make the first move... the Bush administration refusing to reward what it sees as North Korean nuclear blackmail. On a peninsula where North Korea's million-strong army confronts a South Korean military backed by 37 thousand U.S. troops, the standoff has sparked fears of war. And it led North Korea's neighbor and long-time ally China to mount a diplomatic offensive in recent months to bring the parties together. These talks are the result. But if the diplomacy here in Beijing goes nowhere, the Bush administration is making clear it has other options. The U.S. military is planning a joint naval training exercise next month in the Coral Sea off Australia. The goal: to practice interdicting shipping from nations exporting weapons of mass destruction. Mike Chinoy, CNN, Beijing.

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Spoken Word

Sergio Vieira de Mello, former U.N. special envoy: We must not impose anything on this nation. Rather, we must assist where needed, where invited by the Iraqis, in rebuilding a pluralistic, democratic country that the Iraqis so deeply yearn for and so richly deserve.

Final Hours

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: One week after a massive bombing in Iraq that killed U.N. Special Envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 22 other U.N. employees, a new United Nations resolution has been passed... With the aim of giving more protection to aid workers worldwide. The measure states that attacks carried out against humanitarian workers or peacekeepers in Iraq will be labeled as "war crimes." On the scene of the bombing that catalyzed the resolution, is CNN's Walt Rodgers with an account of the last moments of one of the U.N.'s finest.

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WALT RODGERS, CNN REPORTER: Master Sergeant Bill von Zehle is a 'take charge guy.' Tuesday a week ago, Sergeant von Zehle 'took charge' when a truck bomb struck the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad just the length of a football field from where we are standing.

MASTER SERGEANT BILL VON ZEHLE, U.S. ARMY: When the blast went off, it was the brightest orange light I think I'd ever seen, and the loudest noise I'd ever heard.

RODGERS: Wounded himself, von Zehle, a retired fire chief, says he and other soldiers scoured the rubble.

VON ZEHLE: Initially we were told by a U.N. employee there were two people trapped.

RODGERS: Sergeant von Zehle says he slithered between slabs of collapsed concrete locating a U.N. worker as well as U.N. special envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello, buried and trapped.

VON ZEHLE: Basically it was kind of like climbing down a cave, hand over hand, down the bricks. They were both buried pretty much from the waist down. There was no room to really work on Sergio because there was a slab directly above him.

RODGERS: For nearly three hours, von Zehle, and he says a second sergeant, labored to keep the other man and de Mello alive as they lay crushed and slipping into shock.

VON ZEHLE: I said, you know, my name's Bill. He said, I'm Sergio. I asked him his name. He said Sergio. And I said, where are you hurting. And he told me his legs were hurting. I said, and I really meant it, I said, you know, we are going to get you out of here, and at the time I thought we were going to get him out of here.

RODGERS: Von Zehle believes if the Iraqis had basic rescue equipment like most fire departments in developed nations, de Mello could have been pulled out alive. The sergeant says among de Mello's last words were a plea not to withdraw the U.N. mission from Iraq.

VON ZEHLE: You know, he never once asked about himself. He never once complained about the pain, and we know he was in severe pain. I thought the nobility that the man had in his last minutes and hours... that somebody should know about that.

RODGERS: Sergeant von Zehle says he's recovering now after experiencing post-traumatic stress. His Army unit is moving to a more secure location after the bombing of that U.N. building. Von Zehle's goal now: to make it home alive and, in his words, lead a long quiet life. Walter Rodgers, CNN, Baghdad.

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Before We Go

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: Before we go...it's every comedian's nightmare, but every tomato lover's dream. Welcome to Spain, home of the most saucy celebration in the world. The tangy tomato toss took root in the 1940s -- when some local kids started up a food fight at about the same time as tomato exports were ripening up. A tradition was born that attracts tens of thousands these days -- and it only takes a few minutes, to paint the town red.

Goodbye

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: That'll mop up this edition of CNN Student News. I'm Susan Hendricks. More is on the way here on Headline News.