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Connect the World
Aung San Suu Kyi's Opposition Party Celebrates Gains in Parliament; Russian Investigators Visit Airport in Sharm el-Sheikh; Bedouins Face Down ISIS Affiliate Without Firing a Shot; Brazil Hosts First Annual Indigenous Games; Anti-Doping Commission Report Finds Russia's Athletics Systematic Doping. Aired 11:00a-12:00p ET
Aired November 09, 2015 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:31] FREDERIK PLEITGEN, HOST: And than there you have it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he visits the oval office and
Barack Obama, of course. It is a meeting aimed at mending ties between the two leaders after, of course, somewhat of a falling out over the nuclear
agreement just a couple of months ago. Now, of course, the talk is about more cooperation and looking forward.
For more now, I'm joined by our own Oren Lieberman who is in Jerusalem.
And Oren, you listen in to the remarks that were just happening. And of course can feel these two leaders trying the move on.
One of the big things on the table is American military assistance to Israel. What are we expecting there?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, and they both talked about that. That was what they referred to as the memorandum of
understanding, which is essentially the foundation for the military aid package that now stands at $3 billion a year through 2018. This is where
Netanyahu will start lobbying to increase that to 4, perhaps even $5 billion a year. Both of these leaders know it's not a quick process. This
has to go through congress. This will take years, but now that the Iran nuclear deal is done and there no more arguing about whether it's done or
not, will it finish or not, will it be good or not, it is done. Now Netanyahu is moving on, focusing on the future and focusing on that
memorandum of understanding and the military aid package.
So, both stressed how important it is to both countries there. Didn't give any specifics, not surprising there, Fred, because this will be a long
process to hammer out exactly what will be in that aid package.
PLEITGEN: Yeah. And, Oren, of course all of this comes amidst a security situation in Israel that is, of course, that's one that's very
difficult with those stabbing attacks going on and many people seemingly believing that at this point the peace process is certainly if a lot of
difficulty. What do we expect there?
I mean, clearly, Netanyahu made some references saying he still is for a two-state solution. How much headway can they really make?
LIEBERMANN: Well, even one of President Obama's aides said recently that he doesn't expect any real or meaningful negotiations over the course
of the rest of President Obama's term, which is just over a year now. So when President Obama talked about the conflict, talked about peace, he very
much hedged his words there. He didn't say there will be a two-state solution. He said that's the ultimate goal.
A bit surprising there that he didn't mention settlement construction or settlement expansion, staying away from that very sensitive subject with
Prime Minister Netanyahu. I suspect that may be disappointing to Palestinian
leader who wanted to see Netanyahu pressed on this point, especially by President Obama.
And then it was Netanyahu saying that he looks forward to talking about practical steps to move forward the peace process.
Now, there is some expectation that he may have definitive measures that he wants to put in place to help ease tensions. Those didn't come
out. We'll see what those practical steps are and frankly if they have an affect on the level of tension here in Israel, the West Bank and Jerusalem.
PLEITGEN: And, Oren, Netanyahu was criticized by many in Israel for the way that he handled the run-up to that nuclear agreement, also, of
course, with the way that he was in congress, some of the remarks that he made. Do you think that these two men are willing to forgive and to move
on or do you think that it's something that will still tarnish their relationship going forward?
LIEBERMANN: Well, I think it will always hang over this relationship no matter how friendly these two get over the course of the next year and
everybody very much remembers it.
I spoke with a number of analysts here who said the only thing these two need to do to make sure this meeting is successful is to not have a
negative publicity come out of it, that's how sensitive this relationship is and there, in fact, was even a hit to this relationship just a couple of days ago when it
turned out that Netanyahu's new appointment to media adviser had accused Obama of anti-Semitism on Facebook back in March, actually during the Iran
nuclear deal discussions.
So, it's always touchy there. And it's to get a read on how the relationship is going from a few prepared statements, but difficult to get
a read on the relationship from a few prepared statements but it seems there is an effort to move on from that and to focus on what both leaders
have gone out of their way to stress is more important here and that's the military cooperation, the intelligence cooperation and the security
coordination here. So, there certainly is that apparent effort there, Fred.
PLEITGEN: Oren Liebermann, monitoring the situation for us in Jerusalem, thank you very much.
And want to move next to an explosive report in to doping in the world of athletics. It was commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency and it's
calling for nothing less than Russia to be banned from International Track and Field competition if you can believe that over what it describes as a
deeply rooted culture of cheating in Russian athletics.
The president of the IAAF is calling for possible sanctions against Russia, but in the last few minutes, the Russian sports minister has
responded saying the commission has, quote, no right to suspend anyone.
Want to get more now from Martha Kelner who is the athletics correspondent for The Daily Mail and our own senior international
correspondent Matthew Chance who is standing by for us in Moscow.
Matthew, we'll get to you in a second, but first of all, Martha, we were
expecting a bombshell out of this and certainly seems like they didn't disappoint, did they?
[11:05:33] MARTHA KELNER, THE DAILY MAIL: We definitely got what was billed I think.
The sort of revelations in it are so widespread and it really does hint at state sponsored doping within Russia that goes up to the very top.
PLEITGEN: But they were saying this is something that could endanger athletics as a whole.
What do you think? I mean, you have been covering this story and you've covered these allegations for years.
KELNER. Yeah. And I think it is -- they can't be (inaudible) on the fate of the seriousness of the allegations. And they hit right to the very
heart of sport. You know, a lot of people are keen to compare it to the FIFA scandal. And I think it is more serious because with FIFA, you know,
you have crooked individuals who are awarding events to certain countries through unfair means, but this really -- you know, it means that those
athletes on the starting line -- and they don't know they're on a level playing field and that, you know, goes to the very heart of what the
Olympics is about and it ruins, you know, it ruins the spectacle.
PLEITGEN: I want to move over to Matthew Chance for a second there. Matthew, you have monitored the Russian reaction to all this, them saying,
well, the anti-doping agency can't call for anyone to be suspended.
What is -- what are you hearing there on the ground? Are they really feeling that way, do they really think that this is not going to harm them
at all?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: Well, I think they're very
distressed to hear this report released. I mean, you mentioned what Vitaly Mutko, the Russian sports minister said there, that his immediate reaction
when he was called by the sports departments of the state media organization RIA Novosti saying that, you know, this World Doping Agency
doesn't have the right to say this, basically making very defensive statements saying that the ministry will release a
statement shortly.
But there have been other Russian officials, as well, talking about this. Basically that the main thrust of the various remarks that have been
recorded so far are something along the lines of, you know, this is a legal thing to say. This is political. It's nothing to do with sport. It's
intended to discredit or put pressure on Russia ahead of the Olympics.
Because, you know, this is the first approach, this is the first defense that Russian officials are going to have. I mean, sport is
immensely important in this country. It's a sporting superpower, to use a well worn phrase. But
to give you an example of just how important athletics is, in 2012 in the London Olympics, Russia was second in the medal table after the United
States. So it really is important politically and culturally here that their athletes do well.
Now it seems from this report that -- and from earlier reports that we have had, as well, that, you know, the authorities are complicit in a
doping regime to ensure that Russian athletes do better than they would otherwise.
PLEITGEN: Well, this has been looming far while, then. I know we are still in the early stages of this announcement having been made. What we
haven't heard yet is anyone from Russia saying, yes, we have to reform ourselves to a certain extent at least?
CHANCE: Well, I mean, those who are implicated directly in this -- and that includes Russian officials associated with the sports ministry and
the athletics federation -- aren't likely at this stage to do that.
But in the past, I mean, there have been reports, there was one documentary on a year ago almost on a German television station, which you
may be aware of, which claimed using whistle-blowers that 99 percent of Russian athletes taking part in a whole range of sports used doping. And
the documentary which was denied at the time, of course, by Russian officials, also said that Russian officials were
complicit in that program of doping. And those are exactly the findings that this World Doping Agency report have also come to as well.
And so I mean clearly there's a problem with Russian athletics and clearly measures will have to be taken.
How amenable the Russian authorities are at this stage, though, in accepting
that there is a problem is not clear.
PLEITGEN: Thanks, Matthew.
And stick around for us. And Martha, I want to back to you, is it realistic to think that Russia will really be banned from international
athletics, like the commission says it should be?
KELNER: I think if that's what the commission recommends -- I mean, Dick Pound (ph) said either they volunteer to take themselves out of the
international arena...
PLEITGEN: It's very strong statements.
KELNER: Yeah, exactly, surprisingly strong I would say.
Or we will try -- or he recommended that the various organizations try and push them out of the sporting arena.
He did say, you know, that I'm not -- he said it would be a bit nuclear to call for them to be banned from the Rio 2016 Olympics. But
there's a lot of work to be done between now and then if they're to get there.
[11:10:10] PLEITGEN: He put a lot of pressure on Seb Coe, didn't he, to get to the bottom of this, that he was the right man, but also that this
-- it's important for him to now be vigorous in all this. Do you think Seb Coe is the right man to move forward, to get to the bottom of this, to draw
the right consequences. He's already called for at least the body to discuss sanctions. What do you think?
KELNER: I think Seb needs to show that he's not out of touch with the scale of this problem. He waited quite a while before he broke his silence
on these revelations, particularly after the arrest of Lamine Diac (ph) who was the president of the IAAF for 16 years. Seb Coe was the vice president
for seven years.
That's quite a close relationship. And he'd coming in for a lot of question about how much did you know about this? And he says the first he
heard about it was when the investigators turned up his -- the IAAF headquarters in Monaco last week. And so there are -- you know, there's
serious questions about the governance and how someone so high up in the organization, the governing body for athletics worldwide, you know, could
have hidden this from those around him for so long.
So Seb has to prove that he really is the right man to address these issues. And I think the fact that he is now saying that he would consider
a blanket ban on Russia, you know, from international competition shows that he has at least become
aware of how serious, you know, these revelations are.
PLEITGEN: Yeah. We are, of course, going to hear from Seb Coe later in this program, an interview with our own Alex Thomas. Martha, I'm going
to thank you for coming on. Matthew Chance in Moscow, thank you also very much for giving
us that perspective, as well.
And still to come tonight, a shooting rampage at a police facility in Jordan leaves three dead including two Americans. Now we're learning more
about the attacker.
And celebrations in Myanmar. We're in Yangon next in the country on the verge of a historic election result. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PLEITGEN: Welcome backs, everyone. You are watching CNN. And this is Connect the World with me Fred Pleitgen.
Myanmar's ruling party, the military-backed USDP has conceded defeat in the country's elections, marking what's expected to be a major victory
for the opposition NLD party led by none other than Aung San Suu Kyi.
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets to celebrate after millions of voters went to the polls.
The results will no doubt have a major impact on the country which was under military rule for decades. And let's go straight to Myanmar to
Yangon, to our own senior international correspondent Ivan Watson.
And Ivan, this truly looks like a historic day in Myanmar. But the vote counting is still in the early stages, right?
[11:15:01] IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Fred, only a fraction of the more than 490 seats in the parliament that were up
for grabs, only a fraction of the results have been announced. That's about 28 seated with 25 of them going to the opposition National League for
Democracy.
And I'm standing in front of the headquarters of the NLD in Yangon. And as you can see, and undoubtedly hear, it's a big street party out here.
People have been singing and dancing in the streets because the party's leadership has been claiming a landslide victory, even though the formal
official results are not even close to being announced.
But they are -- their claims are being supported by the fact that the ruling military-backed USDP Party has conceded defeat. The chairman of the
party says he wasn't even elected to parliament in his constituency and concedes that his party lost more seats than it won.
But the big question now is going to be how big was the victory for the NLD, which is led, of course, by that icon of Myanmar, that opposition
figure Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winner -- Fred.
PLEITGEN: Ivan, and one of the things that we also have to keep in mind is even with a landslide like that, the military would still retain
some power or a lot of power, because of the way that the constitution is made up. How powerful could Aung San Suu Kyi and her party really be even
if there is this landslide that seems to be shaping up?
WATSON: Well, first of all, Aung San Suu Kyi can't run for the post of president because a constitution that's in place here that was written
by the same army commanders that kept her under house arrest for more than a decade, it bars her from running for office because she has children who
have foreign passports.
In addition to that, that same constitution ensures that the military can appoint 25 percent of the officials in the next parliament. So for the
NLD to win a majority, they would actually have to win more than two thirds of the seats that were up for grabs in this election.
So, they really would need a landslide victory to try to capture a majority.
And then there are clauses that ensure that the military will maintain control of key ministries like the ministry of defense, of interior and
foreign affairs. So, even if the NLD was able to overcome these enormous obstacles in the way of the opposition, they would still find that the military still
maintained control over a lot of the apparatus of the government and the state -- Fred.
PLEITGEN: And Ivan, one of the things we have to keep in mind is Aung San Suu Kyi has won an election in Myanmar before, that was in 1990 and
back then the military didn't relinquish power.
You have been covering Myanmar for us for such a long time. Put into perspective after so many decades of repression how historic the scenes are
that we're seeing there.
WATSON: Fred, the election was really striking. It was very moving to see that there were people lined up on Sunday more than an hour before
the polls opened, more than an hour before the sun rose, that's how enthusiastic they were about casting their ballots. The bitterness of the
last openly contested election which took place in 1990, the bitterness about how the military crushed the results of that election through many of
the opposition leaders and candidates in prison, including Aung San Suu Kyi is still very much felt here within the population.
So people were very moved, there was a very -- it was just an incredible amount of enthusiasm at the polls on Sunday. I spoke to one
couple who said they waited five hours in the heat, in the humidity, to cast their ballots and they said it was absolutely worth it.
They wanted to make sure that their voices were heard. And nearly everybody that I spoke to said they wanted to ensure that some kind of
change would come to their country. People here so accustomed to seeing any public show of
dissent swiftly and violently crushed, determined to make some kind of a change.
And now, starting to dare to believe that change perhaps could be in the air.
And a big question is going to be how will the generals, the commanders who have ruled this country with an iron fist, will they truly
respect the results of this election? Well, the sitting president who himself is a former military commander, he has publicly vowed that the
results of the election would be respected no matter what they may be -- Fred.
[11:20:14] PLEITGEN: Truly historic times there in Myanmar. Thank you very much, Ivan Watson, reporting from Yangon.
And the latest world headlines are just ahead. Plus, the Sinai desert has become a new front line in the battle against ISIS. Meet three sheikhs
who say they took on an affiliate of the terror group and won.
And what brought down flight 9268? It's a question that's weighing on the aviation industry. We have been at the Dubai Air Show to find out what
impact it's having. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PLEITGEN: A U.S. official says the Jordanian man that carried out the deadly shooting at a police training center was recently fired from his
job. The attacker killed two Americans and a South African. It happened just east of the capital Amman.
Jordan's security forces shot and killed the shooter. And our own Phil Black joins me now on set here in London to talk about the incident.
Phil, you've been following what's going on. What details do we have?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIOANL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, so the death toll has risen by one in addition to those people that you mentioned there so
two American contractors working for the American government.
There is a Jordanian individual, as well as that, and a South African also. So, four in total as well as the gunman himself, who was killed by
other Jordanian security forces at the time.
PLEITGEN: Now, we keep saying, or we have heard from the Jordanians that they say this man was recently fired. However, this is also a
significant date for Jordan, Isn't it, as well.
BLACK: Yeah.
So, there's two conflicting theories here at the moment. It's the U.S. government that says he was fired recently. The Jordanian
authorities are telling us, yes, they believe that he was motivated by personal motivation.
PLEITGEN: So, they think no terror links?
BLACK: They think a grievance of some kind. They do not believe that he was connected to any particular organization, but that doesn't
necessarily rule out the possibility of radicalization or some sort of sympathy, because overarching
all of this is the context, which is the date, and that is ten years ago today there was this huge terror attack in Amman, three hotels, targeted
almost simultaneously by suicide bombers in which around 60 people were killed.
To Jordanians, it is like their 9/11. So, this commemoration has been going on there over the last 24 hours or so. At the same time, the
shooting rampage is taking place.
PLEITGEN: Tell us about this training facility. What is going on there? Why were there Americans there? And who were they training and for
what?
BLACK: So, it was created in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and it was set up to train Iraqi police officers, that was its primary
function. Over time, it appears to have taken clients if you like or students from other regions,
countries, Palestine notably, Palestinian security forces are trained there. Today, we've heard Eastern European police forces also train there
as well.
So, very much an international training facility. And so the staff are international as well.
PLEITGEN: But the staff was -- I was going to get to that, because we said two Americans and a South African killed. These were contractors,
right, there were not members of the U.S. police or the military.
BLACK: So, no, not serving members of the U.S. military or members of police forces as such, no. Retired, presumably, private contractors
working there as was the South African. And the Jordanian, we understand, was a local staff member.
This particular shooter, we are told, a captain, was also a trainer at this facility.
PLEITGEN: Thanks very much. Phil Black monitoring the situation for us.
And live from London, this is Connect the World.
And coming up, the Sinai's been their home for years or centuries and Bedouin tribes, they say they plan to keep it that way despite intents by
ISIS to enter their land.
Plus, native people from around the world gather in Brazil to participate in what's being called the first-ever indigenous Olympics.
Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:29:28] PLEITGEN: Welcome back, everyone. This is Connect the World. And these are the top stories at this hour.
An anti-doping report recommends Russia be suspended from upcoming athletic competitions. The Independent commission's report also calls for
lifetime bans for five Russian athletes. Russia's sports minister says the commission does not have the right to suspend anyone.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are meeting at the White House at this moment. This is the first
meeting between the two leaders in a year and their first face to face talks since the Iranian
nuclear deal was struck. Mr. Obama said he would discuss implementation of the deal with Mr. Netanyahu.
And a Jordanian man has shot and killed four people at a police training center in Amman. Two Americans, a South African and a Jordanian
are the ones killed. Security forces were able to kill the gunman. A U.S. official
says the attacker was a recently fired police officer.
Security at Egypt's Sharm el Sheikh airport is facing mounting scrutiny as questions linger over whether a bomb took down a Russian
passenger jet nine days ago.
Germanwings has now added its names to the growing list of airlines suspending flights to the airport. And a team of Russian experts was
expected to begin a security audit there today.
The Metrojet plane went down after taking off from Sharm el Sheikh killing all 224 people on board. And an ISIS affiliate in Egypt has
claimed responsibility but so far hasn't explained how it was done, that's raised doubts over the credibility of the claim.
Now, Bedouin tribes in the Sinai desert have managed to successfully push ISIS back some of those ISIS linked insurgent groups at least. In
this exclusive report, our own Ian Lee spoke to the tribes taking on the terror group.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[11:31:23] IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This harsh landscape is the new battle against ISIS. And the men defending it are not
soldiers or police, they are Bedouin, nomads, who have ruled the Sinai for centuries.
We travel dusty, bumpy roads to find them. We meet three sheikhs from three different tribes who tell us they directly confronted ISIS, drawing a
line in the sand.
"We stopped ISIS more than 20 times. We went out with more than 50 cars, and kicked them back. We didn't shoot one bullet, because if one
bullet was shot, there would be a war."
The Bedouin accomplished something that billions of dollars in weapons couldn't, they stopped ISIS expanding from the northern part of Sinai to
here in the south without shedding any blood.
ISIS's Egyptian offshoot is already one of the most dangerous. It has killed hundreds of soldiers and police officers in northern Sinai and it's
trying to expand.
Sinai is a desert, the north is flat, the south covered in mountains. And that's why ISIS wants to push south so that they can use this rocky,
mountainous terrain for cover while fighting their guerrilla war.
The Sheikhs tell me their cousins in the north face a dilemma. They want to fight ISIS, but if they are caught with weapons, the Egyptian army
might see them as militants. If they help the army, terrible retribution.
Here ISIS beheads alleged army collaborators. But these men are ready to take that risk, even though their communities in Sinai long been
marginalized by the government in far off Cairo.
The Bedouins reject ISIS's twisted version of Islam and its invasion of their
lands.
"The tribes could defeat ISIS, if the government came and gave us arms and said fight ISIS, they would fight ISIS," says this Tarabin (ph) tribal
leader. "They would finish them completely."
And they're ready for battle to save their families, their honor, and their age old way of life.
Ian Lee, CNN, in Egypt's Sinai peninsula.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: And there is, of course, mounting evidence that ISIS is behind the downing of Metrojet flight 9268. Egypt, however, says that all
scenarios are still on the table and that, quote, "we don't know what happened exactly."
For more on the Egyptian investigation into the crash, I'm joined now by Alistair Rosenschein. He is a former pilot and an aviation consultant.
Thank you so much for coming on the program today, sir.
And what do you make of the current investigation right now? Things are pointing to a bomb being on the plane, right?
ALISTAIR ROSENSCHEIN, AVIATION CONSULTANT: Well, that seems to be the probability that it was a bomb and there's nothing that's come out here,
which contradicts that. But I think the Egyptians are right to hold off until the report comes out.
PLEITGEN: It does question airport security, doesn't it? Not just in Sharm el-Sheikh, but across the board at many airports, doesn't it?
ROSENSCHEIN: Yes, well it does.
And as I say, in all probability it was a bomb and, of course, to protect the public action has to be taken to prevent it from happening
again because one can't wait until a report comes out if there is an eminent threat to the traveling public.
PLEITGEN: What is the problem, though? Because in Sharm el-Sheikh, we have seen in the past the Brits raised concern 10 months ago.
Apparently things were done to alleviate those concerns. Is the problem here really with, for instance, the problem here really with, for instance,
the gear at the airport or is it with the personnel?
[11:35:07] ROSENSCHEIN: It's usually with personnel. They have scanners. They're already -- they presumably have x-ray machines, as well.
But the point is it's really a personnel issue. And the question here is whether or not there's also an issue of corruption. It was mentioned on
numerous news reports and of course, any form of corruption amongst security staff is completely unacceptable.
But I'm holding -- I'm not accusing...
PLEITGEN: No, of course not.
ROSENSCHEIN: ...of being corrupt.
PLEITGEN: But the question is -- because then the question is how do you stop something like that? Because you can install all the technical
measures that you want, if people aren't looking at the screens that's not going to help is it -- or if they're looking the other way because they're
being paid.
ROSENSCHEIN: Well, you need good oversight, you need proper management of the whole system. You have to -- you have to have staff who
are properly remunerated, don't work too many hours -- I mean, air traffic controllers can only work a couple hours at a time and then they have a
rest break -- it might be four hours, whatever.
It must be the same with security staff. You can't just stare at a screen
forever and...
PLEITGEN: What are the international standards for that?
ROSENSCHEIN: That I don't know, is the straight answer. And I'm sure it differs from country to country.
But we're thinking here primarily of security as passengers come in and presenting their bags and the bags going through to the aircraft. The
actual -- there is also the fact of staff who come around airside, that's the other side of the security.
Are they going through the same checks that passengers and crews have to go through before they board an aircraft? Because if they're getting a
nod and taking their vehicles onto the airfield, then there's a big hole in the security.
Now, it has been suggested there may have been a bomb on the aircraft. A bomb may have been in the bag, which was checked in, but it may also have
been placed in a bag...
PLEITGEN: Airside.
ROSENSCHEIN: Airside, yes. Or indeed just placed straight into the hold
of the aircraft.
PLEITGEN: As a pilot, was that something that troubled you when you were still flying, that something like that could happen? I mean,
presumably, it's not just Sharm el-Sheikh airport, but there are other smaller airports where I'm assuming that that is a concern.
ROSENSCHEIN: No, it most definitely is a concern. We have what's called a baggage reconciliation on airlines and that is if the passengers
board and you find there's one passenger is not there, his bag or her bag has to be offloaded.
PLEITGEN: That happened after Lockerbie, right? That was something that was put in place after Lockerbie, because that -- there the bag just
kept flying even though the people weren't on the plane anymore.
ROSENSCHEIN: Absolutely.
But the problem here is that does not cover a suicide bomber, somebody prepared to check in with a bomb in their bag. So in that case, this
particular security check would have no -- wouldn't protect an airline at all.
PLEITGEN: We are already seeing some people in the airline industry saying this could change the face of air travel, the face of security in
the future. How do you think this could -- this could weigh on for instance travel times? Because you might spend longer at the airport for
security checks, but also the price of airfares as well.
ROSENSCHEIN: No, it would impact on both. I mean, the cost of security is actually fairly low in comparison with the rest of the costs of
flying.
PLEITGEN: It's part of the airport fees, you sort of see it on your ticket.
ROSENSCHEIN: Yes, yes. It is not huge. And I personally find -- I wouldn't
mind spending a few dollars extra in order to, you know, increase the security.
But, you know, in the past, most of the security's been aimed at scheduled airlines. But if they start moving, if terrorism now affects
charter airlines, in other words, holiday makers, that's an altogether different ballgame because there are airports all around the world, serve
holiday makers.
PLEITGEN: And it is one of -- kind of the fastest growing sectors of the airline industry, isn't it, these smaller airlines flying to smaller
destinations. Do you think that this could impede the growth of world air travel, these security concerns?
ROSENSCHEIN: I suspect not. I mean, billions of people travel by air every year. The number of attacks like this are minuscule and, you know,
we live in an open society. If we want to continue living like that with freedom of movement, freedom of travel and speech, we have to accept a
certain amount of risk and that risk we are accepting at the moment, but what we can do is try to reduce that
risk and so that means better intelligence, needs better security at airports and it needs better alertness by everybody involved in the
industry and that includes the traveling public.
PLEITGEN: Thank you very much for joining us again, sir.
ROSENSCHEIN: Thank you.
PLEITGEN: In the aftermath of the Metrojet crash, uncertainty over what
brought down the plane is weighing heavily on the airline industry. As we've heard, top aviation officials gathered at the Dubai air show on
Monday with the Sinai crash high on the agenda.
CNN's John Defterios reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN DEFTERIOS, EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: This biennial fair usually allows the big three Gulf carriers to show off their expansion plans and
plane orders, that's not the case in 2015. Oil prices are half the level they were two years ago and clearly the Metrojet tragedy is forcing a
rethink, at least throughout the Middle East, about security.
Here's the president of Emirates Airline Tim Clark.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM CLARK, PRESIDENT, EMIRATES AIRLINE: If you put the incident in the context of what happened and we understand what happened, we can get a
fix on what happened, we understand that. And if it was as a result of the alleged device put on the airplane, then we must assess both as an airline,
Emirates itself, all its security protocols at all the airports it flies to. And we are doing that as it happens.
We do it on an ongoing basis. And I would expect the industry, and other carriers that have a global reach such as ours, will do the same.
I'm sure they will do.
In addition, the International Civil Aviation Organization and other regulators within their own countries are probably going to come along and
say, look, we need to see what you're doing, we need to talk to the airport authorities, we need to talk to the stakeholders on the airports with
regard to who does security, how they do it. How they screen employees, what processes are going on.
All this will happen in my view as a result of what happened at Sharm el-Sheikh.
[11:40:49] DEFTERIOS: I have flown into Sharm el-Sheikh a number of different times for conferences and also on holiday. It's a soft target.
I mean, the reality is if you're a terrorist organization, and you want to infiltrate an airport, the smaller tourist destinations seem to be
vulnerable. This is a reality, is it not?
CLARK: Yeah.
Look, now unfortunately for the Egyptians, it -- this airport was in the view I believe of the Egyptian government was a secure airport because
they knew there was a clear and present threat so they had security in the place, maybe it was slightly lax and certain areas. I don't want to
criticize them, but as you rightly say, there are many airports in the world and not just in Egypt or Africa, all over the place. There are
potential targets that -- airports that are vulnerable and those are the ones that must look at their procedures to ensure that this kind of thing
can't happen.
DEFTERIOS: Aren't you very concerned that maybe staff was compromised here and they're cooperating with the very seedy elements that...
CLARK: I made mention of the human resource. It is the human resource that applies the processes, the procedures, the protocols. If you
have a weak human resource then there are going to be issues.
DEFTERIOS: Tim Clark on the human factor behind security and also what needs
to be done on the infrastructure front, as well.
By the way, none of the major gulf carriers announced any reasons to delay the orders despite the better than 50 percent drop in energy prices.
John Defterios, CNN, at the Dubai air show.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: And live from London, this is Connect the World.
Coming up, Russia's sporting integrity is under the spotlight. We have the latest on fresh allegations of widespread doping in athletics.
Also ahead, a tribal tug of war. Indigenous people from across the globe show off their strength and their garb at the Indigenous World
Olympic Games. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:48] PLEITGEN: You are watching Connect the World live from London. Welcome back. I am Fred Pleitgen.
And I want to give you more on our top story now. That explosive report into doping in the world of athletics, which is calling for Russia
to be banned from international track and field competition over what is described as a, quote, deeply rooted culture of cheating within Russian
athletics.
Now, CNN's World Sports Alex Thomas is with me in the studio to discuss all
this. And Alex, we heard beforehand that this was going to be an explosive press conference and it certainly was, wasn't it?
ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORREPSONDENT: Yeah, we have seen allegations of
doping particularly in track and field for a long, long time. Remember the previous Soviet bloc countries where there were systemic doping programs
and it appears unfortunately, although the Cold War supposed is over -- or maybe not in recent weeks when you look at global politics right now --
when it comes to doping in sport in Russia, maybe the bad old days are coming back.
PLEITGEN: And we have to remind our viewers that this investigation had quite a narrow mandate, didn't it? It only focused on just these types
of sports.
THOMAS: Exactly. This was a WADA commission, the World Anti-Doping Commission. It's independent to a certain extent, although it was
commissioned by WADA, but they are an independent body. To take away the drug testing from various countries, although they have to rely on certain
athletics federations to do their own testing.
Dick Pound, the very famous former president of WADA, was the man in charge of this commission. They held a news conference in Geneva, even
though WADA is based in Canada.
And you're right, the findings were explosive, particularly when it came to the part the Russian government played, saying that the secret
police even intimidated an official lab based in Moscow.
PLEITGEN: The phrase state sponsored doping was one that stood out at me.
THOMAS: Which is why it was compared to the Cold War days, that's something that Dick Pound said. It's something like from the '60s, '70s
and '80s as if they're winding back the clock under Putin's Russia.
Already, we're getting reaction out of Russia saying this is all nonsense. But I think they're going to find it far harder to deny these
claims because there is so much proof in terms of documents, emails and other physical evidence.
PLEITGEN: Now, Russia is, of course, a huge sporting nation. And we're not
only talking about athletics, we're talking about generally summer Olympics sports, winter Olympic sports almost even more so. Is it really feasible
or something that could actually happen that they would really be banned from all international competitions?
That seems difficult, doesn't it?
THOMAS: Certainly in the short-term, I think it's completely feasible, Fred, that they can be banned. The huge question is, we have got
the Summer Olympic Games coming up in Rio next year. Dick Pound was asked about that would you just ban Russia now from the Olympics? And
backtracked very quickly from that, even though he's someone that won't mince his words.
PLEITGEN: He said that he hoped that they would reform themselves.
THOMAS: Exactly. He thought there was enough time to ban Russia now, get their house in order while they were not in competition, say, look,
that's what you're threatened with. You can see the precipice. Come back from that. Make sure you keep the government away from interfering with
independent doping and then hopefully you can reform in time for Rio.
The trouble is if Russia comes back in time for the Rio Olympics, those anti-doping campaigners, the despair of the governing bodies doing
enough will probably throw up their arms.
PLEITGEN: He said -- Dick Pound said that this is something that could threaten athletics as a whole. Do you think that that's correct?
And what does this mean for the Rio games?
THOMAS: There's been a lot of people taking this particular case and spreading it wider saying look at the world of sport right now. It is in
crisis. FIFA in absolute chaos at the moment, problems at UEFA, Europe's governing body for soccer. Cricket's world governing body having issues now, as
well.
And the thing with the IAAF scandal, track and field, is that there's real concerns now about the performances on the track. The FIFA crisis was
about commercial deals and money and taking a slice of the pie, this is about the athletes lining up against each other. Is it fair? Is it a
level playing fair? And the WADA commission report today showed there's clear evidence that it is not.
PLEITGEN: Do you think -- and I know that you're still waiting for your interview with Seb Coe. Is he the right man to sort out all of this?
I know Dick Pound said he thought it was. But that also puts a lot of pressure on Coe...
THOMAS: Huge amount of pressure, because Coe was very, very lavish in his praise for his predecessor Lamin Diak (ph) who is now under formal
investigation by French authorities. We're just heard in the last few hours as well that
INTERPOL are making this a global investigation now into corruption and doping in the sports of track and field athletics and so he's under huge
pressure to turn around a sport that he excelled at as a middle distance runner, winning gold at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 and the L.A. Olympics
in 1984. He hosted, or was in charge of a hugely successful London Olympics games, but this is the biggest challenge of his career. I'm sure
I'll ask him, maybe he'll disagree with me, but I would -- that's my opinion from the outside.
PLEITGEN: Alex Thomas, thanks very much for joining us.
And of course watch out for Alex's interview with Seb Coe, that's coming up later today on CNN.
And live from London, this is Connect the World. Coming up, as Brazil prepares for the 2016 Olympic games it's holding another more unusual
competition, if you will, and it involves indigenous customs from all over the world. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PLEITGEN: Welcome back, everyone. And we are now going to give you a report about the Olympic Games in Brazil. And guess what, it is not about
Rio 2016, but about the so-called indigenous games.
In tonight's Parting Shots, Shasta Darlington reports on an annual unusual global sporting event.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: With an arc of fire to light the torch and traditional dance, the first World Indigenous
Games off to a colorful start.
2,000 native people from two dozen countries, competing in a variety of sports deep in the heart of Brazil.
A nine-day spectacle where national tribes showcase wrestling. Mongolia, a standout in archery. And New Zealand's Maoris, spear throwing.
MARINO THOMPSON, MAORI ATHLETE: I think it's good because we are like distant from the other cultures of the world, but this gives us a chance to
mingle with the rest of the indigenous people.
DARLINGTON: The Maori also favorites to win the tug of war, but this victory goes to a home team, the Baccarites (ph).
And after the sweltering sun sets, the log relay race begins, 100 kilos passed shoulder the shoulder.
But here it really isn't just about winning, this is the stage not just for
sports but also for culture. As you can see right here behind me, people keep on telling us over and over again that they to share their traditions.
If fact, there aren't even any judges or referees at these events.
For some, a chance to share their unique sport, like Mexteca Ball (ph) from southern Mexico.
For others, some good old nation to nation face time.
Also, a stage for protests. Some Brazilian tribes were excluded from the opening ceremony and eventually stormed the stadium. And many
denounced continuous threats to indigenous land from illegal logging, ranching and even from a
congress influenced by the powerful agra business lobby.
"It's great to honor indigenous games, says this leader of the Pakasho (ph) tribe, "but you can't ignore the problems, especially when it comes to
land."
Still, each night a chance to savor another rich display. And before it all comes to an end, the news that Canada will host the next games in
2017.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: And just a reminder you can always follow the story that our team is working on throughout the day by going to our Facebook page,
Facebook.com/CNNConnect and get in touch. You can tweet me. @FpleitgenCNN.
I am Fred Pleitgen. And that's it for Connect the World. Stay tuned for Lynda Kinkade and the International Desk. Thank you for watching.
END
