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Donald Trump Denounces Anti-Semitism; UN Mourns Loss of Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin; Israeli Soldier Elor Azaria Sentenced to 18 Months. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired February 21, 2017 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:04:21] LYNDA KINKADE, HOST: You've just been listening to President Donald Trump there speaking at the African-American Museum in Washington,

D.C.

He announced that former presidential candidate Ben Carson will work closely with him in the African-American community and he also spoke about

the anti-Semitic threats on Jewish centers throughout the U.S. He called them horrible and painful. And he said that there's much to be done to root

out that hate.

Well, we're going to bring in our Laura Jarrett from Washington, D.C. to talk about this a little bit more and about other issues that we're

following out of the capital at the moment. Firstly, you just heard the president speaking for the first time about the anti-Semitic attacks, the

threats on those Jewish centers. Just how serious are some of those threats?

LAURA JARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're still looking into that, Lynda. We know that federal investigators are now investigating the civil

rights violations, potentially, but we have seen, you know, a swath of these threats on Jewish community centers over just the last month they've

really ramped up. So, we'll have to wait and see how they escalate, or what resolution comes from the federal investigation.

KINKADE: Now, the other big issue we're following, of course, is the travel ban with the president set to release a new executive order. How

will this one be different from the last time?

JARRETT: That's right. So, we should see that later this week, or early this week, I should say. And we heard from the Homeland Security Secretary

over the weekend who gave us a little bit of a preview of what we might see. And he highlighted that it's a pretty safe assumption that this time

around, green card holders or legal permanent residents, will be exempted from the travel ban. So, they will be free to travel here.

He also said that for people who are in the air when the travel - the new travel ban comes down, they will be able to come into the country. But

what happens to the people who are still in the airports or still at home in their home countries, we're just not sure what will happen to those

people yet.

KINKADE: Before I go further on this travel ban, I just wanted to go back to this anti-Semitic threats that we've been seeing.

The president did come under a lot of criticism for not actually mentioning these threats over the past few days.

JARRETT: That's right. He's faced a fair amount of criticism, but we've also seen his daughter, Ivanka, tweeting about it. And he came out last

night with a statement. And so we're likely to see more from him, I assume, in the coming days.

KINKADE: And of course his daughter is Jewish. He is - she's married to a Jewish man. And she has been tweeting about this, and probably a bigger

voice than the president has been during the last few days.

JARRETT: That's exactly right.

KINKADE: Just back to this travel ban. The government was criticized in the past for banning citizens from seven Muslim majority countries with no

evidence of a threat. Will they provide some evidence this time around to boost their case?

JARRETT: Well, that's going to be a really interesting thing to watch, Lynda, because the courts were very critical of that last time around. The

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the highest court to have evaluated the old travel ban said, look, you've got to give us something. And right now we

don't have anything to go on other than your word in the plain terms of the executive order. And you're telling us we can't review it.

So, it'll be interesting to see if they kind of bolster their record this time around.

KINKADE: All right, Laura Jarrett, great to have with us. Thanks so much for your time.

JARRETT: Thanks, Lynda.

KINKADE: Well, the U.S. president now has a new National Security Adviser, Lieutenant General H.R. McMasters replacing Michael Flynn who was fired for

giving misleading information about his contacts with Russia.

Now, widely respected and outspoken military tactician who is well-known for challenging authority. Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster will receive

the daily intelligence briefing in the White House. CNN's Joe Johns looks at what he brings to the table.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience.

JOHNS (voice-over): President Donald Trump unveiling Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster as his new national security adviser.

TRUMP: He is highly respected by everybody in the military, and we're very honored to have him.

JOHNS: McMaster is a decorated Army soldier; a veteran of the first Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan; and a widely respected military strategist.

MCMASTER: I'd just like to say what a privilege it is to be able to continue serving our nation.

JOHNS: Known as a creative thinker, McMaster is a West Point graduate and holds a Ph.D. in military history. The pick drawing praise from both sides

of the political spectrum. Senator John McCain, who's been among President Trump's toughest Republican critics, calling McMaster "an outstanding

choice, a man of genuine intellect, character and ability."

McMaster takes the helm of a National Security Council one week after Michael Flynn was forced to resign for misleading the vice president about

his communications with a Russian ambassador.

MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was disappointed to learn that the -- the facts that had been conveyed to me by General Flynn

were inaccurate.

JOHNS: President Trump's first choice to replace Flynn, retired Vice Admiral Bob Harward, but he turned down the job, citing family reasons.

Sources tell CNN Harward was also concerned about being able to form his own team.

But as an active-duty officer, McMaster did not have the option of saying, "No thanks."

What remains to be seen is how independent-minded McMaster will work with Steve Bannon, the president's controversial chief strategist, who sits on

the National Security Council.

[10:10:09] REINCE PRIEBUS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: The president has said very clearly that the new NSA director will have total and complete

say over the makeup of the NSC and all of the components of the NSC.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, now to a case that's divided Israel between those who think they saw an execution and others who say they saw self defense.

Now, a military court has sentenced the Israeli soldier Elor Azaria to 18 months in a military prison and a year of probation. He had been found

guilty of manslaughter for fatally shooting a wounded Palestinian knife attack suspect.

So, let me just take you back through what happened. This is Azaria near the far ambulance there last March at a settlement in Hebron in the West

Bank. You're seeing the scene just minutes after what the Israeli military says was an attack by two knife wielding Palestinians on soldiers there.

They shot one of the alleged attackers dead on the spot and shot, but only wounded the other. He's in the black on the left there. Still alive, but

then Azaria cocked his gun and shot him once in the forehead.

Well, CNN's Oren Liebermann joins us now from Jerusalem for more on all of this. Oren, he could have faced up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors

wanted five years, but he got 18 months. Still, you're seeing an outcry from his supporters.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, a very big outcry that we've seen not only today and the day that the verdict came

down, but since the very moment that Elor Azaria was arrested, and certainly since he was charged with manslaughter in this case.

As you mentioned, 20 years is the maximum sentence for manslaughter. Nobody here really expected that. Prosecutors asked for three to five

years and we were a bit surprised when we heard the sentence in this case. 18 months in military prison, 12 months of probation on top of that. Now

that does not include 10 months of open detention he's had on the military base since this whole process started about 10 months ago.

So, the 18 months in military prison is on top of that. And then 12 months of probation after that.

We've seen reactions, and different reactions from across the political spectrum here as has been expected, because this is such a case that

divided Israeli society. Right-wing politicians have immediately called for Elor Azaria's pardon and release. Left-wing politicians have said this

points out a major problem in the Israeli legal system, or in the military justice system that he was convicted of manslaughter and is only getting 18

months in prison, while centrist politicians say this was a very difficult period in Israel's history, its recent history, and it's time for the

entire nation to try to move on together.

So, you're seeing very different reactions here in a case that very much divided Israeli society.

KINKADE: Azaria's team, of course, do plan to appeal this. How soon could that be heard?

LIEBERMANN: That's unclear at this point. They have a few options in the military justice system. They could file an appeal and his lawyers have

promised to do that. They could ask for a pardon, and that would involve both the Israeli military chief of staff as well as the president of

Israel, Reuven Rivlin who has the final say there, or they could ask one of the commanders in the Israeli military to lighten the sentence. So they

have a number of different options here.

Of course, this case was just as interesting to Palestinians who have watched this very closely. We've heard from Palestinian leaders. We've

also heard from Abdul Fatah al-Sharif (ph) father, that's the Palestinian, the wounded assailant who was shot and killed by Azaria, them saying that

this light sentence is indicative of the injustice in the Israeli justice system that treats Israelis one way and Palestinians another.

KINKADE: All right, we will be following this closely. Oren Liebermann, good to have you with us. We'll have to leave it there. Thank you.

Well, we were just talking about General McMaster. He, of course, has a lot of experience in Iraq. And he was awarded a silver star during the

first Gulf war in 1991. And 14 years later, he commanded the regiment that captured Tal Afar from forces loyal to al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda in Iraq would later evolve into ISIS, so General McMaster's experience on the ground in Iraq maybe essential to the Trump

administration's plan to defeat the extremist group.

U.S. troops are backing Iraqi forces right now in the operation to retake western Mosul. So far they've cleared ISIS fighters from a key village

overlooking the airport.

And we have some new video showing an abandoned ISIS tunnel discovered near that village. It was outfitted with beds, water tanks, and Styrofoam

coolers.

Well, Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins me now with more on the battle for Mosul and the role of this new national security adviser.

Barbara, great t ohave you with us, as always. Just explain for us how McMaster will help President Trump navigate the fight against ISIS.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONENT: Well, you know, the president has asked the military for options on how to accelerate the war to defeat

ISIS. Those options due by the end of the month.

So now in place of the national security adviser, it will General McMaster's job to basically coordinate that whole effort, get the input

from all of the government agencies about what might be done, take that information and put it in to some kind of format for presentation to the

president so he can make a decision on how he wants to proceed.

One of the things in the United States that the national security adviser does is actually fulfill that very important coordinating role, make sure

when all the government agencies have some sort of option or thought or proposal that they want to get to the president, it's all coordinated

throughout the government and presented in a very coherent fashion - Lynda.

[10:15:41] KINKADE: And Barbara, what we are learning about this new national security adviser is that he is not afraid to stand up and speak

the truth. How do you think that will go down with a president who doesn't like criticism?

STARR: Well, you know, talking to people who know General McMaster, nobody thinks he's about to change how he operates. This is a guy who was

actually passed over for promotion at least twice because of his very plainspoken attitude. And then the higher ups in the army sort of, you

know, got the revelation that they really needed to promote him, that he's a really clear strategic thinker.

No indication he's going to change the way he operates.

I think that it's safe to say President Trump, if he wants to get a clear and concise and candid view, McMaster is going to give it to him.

KINKADE: All right. We'll have to see how that goes. Barbara Starr, good to have you with us. As always, thank you.

STARR: Sure.

KINKADE: Well, we are covering American politics for you like no one else can. CNN's reporters and analysts are right in the mix in Washington as

well as right around the world, bringing you unrivaled coverage of what's going on at the heart of the world's most powerful country.

Find all of that and much more any time at CNN.com/politics.

Well, still to come tonight, French presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, is in the Middle East and canceled one high profile meeting. We'll tell

you why in just a few minutes.

And we have an exclusive report from Pyongyang on what people there know and think about Donald Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: You're watching Connect the World live from the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Welcome back.

Well, France is gearing up for a presidential election. Voters go to the polls in April with far right leader Marine Le Pen believing she can

channel the populist tides of Brexit and Donald Trump all the way to the Elysees Palace, but it's an incident in the Middle East that has people

talking.

Le Pen canceled a meeting with Lebanon's grand mufti on Tuesday after refusing to wear a head scarf.

Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen's rival, Emmauel Macron is in London where he'll meet with Prime Minister Theresa May.

Well, let's go to Paris. CNN's Melissa Bell for the latest on that.

Melissa, first on Marine Le Pen trying to boost her foreign policy credentials during this three day trip in Lebanon. That all went a bit

pear shaped. Just explain what happened.

[10:20:10] MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, pear shaped, or perhaps not quite as pear shaped as that. The question really is how - to what

extent - this was not quite planned, but certainly an incident that she knew would become an incident and give her a bit of publicity.

And of course as you say, these visits when the presidential candidates start getting around to foreign capitals are crucial. Marine Le Pen has

been telling those close to her that she's now won the battle of ideas. It is now the battle of credibility that she needs to take on, hence this

visit to Beirut with just weeks to go before the French presidential election.

She is currently leading in the polls ahead of the first round of voting.

Now, you have to answer first of all the question of head scarves has been central here in France and French politics for more than a decade now. We

now know, because we've spoken to a spokesman for the grand mufti, he is the highest Sunni authority in Lebanon, that she had been told well ahead

of that meeting that she would be required to cover her head. She went, nonetheless, refusing to wear this head scarf, causing this row.

But of course it gives her the possibility of really reminding her electorate that this is what she's about, that she will not give in to the

ideas of others and that women's freedom, the rights of women in the face of what she's repeatedly described as creeping Islamic fundamentalism is

going to be one of her central fights, one of her central combats.

So, this is something that really - one thing that she's really using to raise that idea of herself as a candidate who can be trusted on those

issues that she's made so central to her platform.

KINKADE: That's right. It certainly does remind the electorate what she stands for. And she's not the first female world leader to do this. But

there is just nine weeks to go now before the first round of voting. Talk to us about the other two presidential candidates, one a former prime

minister, the other a former investment banker?

BELL: Yes. She is currently leading the polls going into the first round of voting, Lynda. And this has really been a fascinating campaign to watch

and to cover, because it seems to change almost every week.

Once a Republican - the French Republican Party, the right-wing, mainstream right-wing party of France has chosen its candidate in the shape of that

former prime minister you alluded to, Francois Fillon, everyone assumed it was game over for Marine Le Pen. He would capture enough of the right to

really present the kind of strong position against her that the electorate needed.

Then he ran into all sorts of trouble with his wife and his children, accused of having been paid for parliamentary work that was never carried

out.

Now, those allegations now the subject of an ongoing investigation. He's vowed to carry on, even though there have been calls from within his own

party to put the interests of the party above his own and to stand aside. Nothing doing, he's bashing on regardless, hoping to make it through to the

second round. And yet the pollster that he won't manage to do that, for the time being.

It looks as though Emmanuel Macron, the investment banker who is now in London who left France's government last year. He had been economy

minister for a couple of years, to found his own party. It looks as though he could be the one facing Marine Le Pen in the second round.

The trick is, though, for him - for a man who is yet to really make clear his platform, his program, won't be announced officially until the 2nd of

March, Lynda that had proved something of a strength in this campaign where the extremes, both left and right, have sort of gone to the more extreme

parts of their party. He had been looking incredibly strong, but he's had a tough week. And he's sort of been plateauing in those polls. And the

question now is whether someone who is as vague on what he stands for this late into the campaign, can he really prove a credible force against

someone like Marine Le Pen who love her or hate her you have to acknowledge that she knows what she stands for and she's absolutely clear about it,

Lynda.

KINKADE: Yeah, fair points there. Some good analysis. Melissa Bell, great to have you with us. Thank you.

Well, whether it's Paris or Timbuktu, almost wherever you go in the world people all know about Donald Trump, except maybe North Korea. There's no

free press there. North Koreans know he's the new man in the White House, but not much else.

CNN's Will Ripley has unprecedented access inside Pyongyang and brings us this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Time off is precious in North Korea. Work and school is usually six days a week. Sports

are a popular pastime even in the freezing cold.

Regular North Koreans don't have Internet and can't make international calls. State media is their window to the outside world.

"We know President Trump by name," says this researcher. We also know of former President Obama. But we really don't care who is in power. We only

care if they stop their hostile policy toward my country."

"Hostile policy," two words repeated by everyone we meet. They're in the newspapers they read and on the handful of channels they watch.

"I think it would be a good idea for President Trump to meet with my supreme leader," says this computer engineer, "but he would have to put an

end to America's position still policy."

For the most part North Koreans are friendly, even when they learn I'm an American. Unlike other countries I visit, they don't share personal

opinions about President Trump.

(on camera): Even the media and the outside world focuses a lot on what President Trump tweets and what he says, the state media here reports very

little about his daily activities. People know his name but they don't focus on what he's doing. They focus on their lives here.

(voice-over): The message they receive is tightly controlled and so are we. We're only allowed to show you the good side of life in Pyongyang. Like

this free eye hospital North Korea says was built in seven months despite U.S.-led sanctions. We don't see the poverty and food insecurity described

by the United Nations and others. We see a hospital shop selling expensive designer frames and hear a strikingly similar message when it comes to the

United States.

Does it matter who is the president of the United States?

"It doesn't matter at all," says this housewife.

"We don't care who the U.S. president is," says this work team leader. "We have the leadership of Marshal Kim Jong-Un."

Even North Korea's children spend hours each week learning about their supreme leader. On the playground, constant reminders this is a militarized

nation. Children are taught they must be ready to fight they are under the imminent threat of invasion by the U.S. and its president.

For decades, a simple, effective message has helped keep order and control by keeping out the rest of the world.

Will Ripley, CNN, Pyongyang, North Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[10:30:43] KINKADE: President Trump (inaudible) an African-American history museum in Washington a short time ago. And afterwards, he made

remarks that many have been waiting to hear. Mr. Trump directly addressed a recent wave of anti-Semitism in the U.S. calling the threats horrible and

painful.

Well, let's go to our Deborah Feyerick who is following this development. Before we get to the president's comments, just explain for us the sort of

threats that these Jewish centers have been having?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, Lynda, these are threats that are being made to the Jewish community center across

the country. There are many of them. They began back in January. Yesterday, on Monday, there were 11 threats that were called into these

centers. That brings the total up to 69 at 54 different centers across this country. They're being taken very, very seriously. The FBI is

investigating. They are looking back to try to find voice messages and checking social media and cell phone calls.

But the president, President Trump, addressed these comments, something that many in the Jewish community have been waiting for him to do for many

months now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of

the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil.

(END VIDE OCLIP)

FEYERICK: And that was the first time, despite repeated requests that the president personally addressed the rise in anti-Semitism. He didn't call

out any particular groups, he just identified the fact that there is what appears to be a growing problem.

Now, the FBI, as I mentioned, is investigating. The - so far, there's been no actual bomb discovered at any of these locations, at least no

confirmation to us that a bomb has been found. These are phone calls. Apparently the caller or callers are disguising their voices using some

sort of digital recording. But it has hit centers in Orlando, Florida, in Albany, as well as in the greater Washington area at which time some 200

preschool children had to be evacuated that was back in January. So these places are taking these threats very, very seriously. And they're beefing

up security at all of these centers nationwide, Lynda.

KINKADE: It's interesting to note that these threats have been on the rise since the president took office a month ago. Yet he hadn't spoken about

these, or addressed the concerns, yet his daughter Ivanka did. I just want to bring up a tweet that she put out. We've got it there. She says

America is a nation built on the principle of religious tolerance. We must protect our houses of worship and religious centers #JCC, the Jewish

Community Centers.

Why has it been such a long time? Why have we waited so long for the president to make this sort of a statement denouncing these threats.

FEYERICK: I think that's one of the questions that many people have been asking. Why has it taken so long? Ivanka Trump, she is an orthodox Jew,

she converted , her husband, Jared Kushner, being an orthodox Jew. The president has said he is the least anti-Semitic person you will ever find.

But that didn't go far enough in terms of addressing these threats.

Now, the (inaudible) investigating this is a civil crime, civil hate crime, but they're also looking at the - a civil rights crime, I should say, but

they're looking at the possibility, look, that this could be somebody from a far right group, but it could also be somebody from a far left group in

terms of trying to call attention to what they see as something insidious going through the country.

So, everything is on the table right now as this is being investigating, but it's being investigated right now as a civil rights crime.

It did take him a long time to address his daughter tweeting this morning and his challenger, Hillary Clinton also coming out and for the first time

saying that this is an issue that has to be addressed by POTUS, the president of the United States - Lynda.

KINKADE: All right. Deborah Feyerick, great to have you on this story for us. Thanks so much.

Well, now to an eastern front on the fringes of Europe where it is not all quiet. International monitors say a cease-fire between Ukrainian forces

and Russian-backed separatists has been violated almost 800 times since it began on Monday. They say the two sides are simply too close to one

another and there's little trust. The shaky truce is still officially holding.

CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now from Moscow. It seems like this truce is barely hanging on by a thread.

[10:35:22] MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it seems that way, but in fact when we're talking about 800 violations we're talking

about some of them are minor, some of them admittedly major. But we're talking about a much lower level of confrontation than we've been

witnessing in that region for the past several weeks, since late January when the violence there really started to flare up.

There was that agreement a few days ago for this ceasefire to be enforced, more or less, it is holding, or at the very least the situation is

returning back to the low level of conflict that was prevalent in Eastern Ukraine before the flareup of violence in late January. And so obviously

that's a major good thing, it's a major bonus for the civilians who were the ones that have been trapped in between the front line, some 30 of whom

have been killed over the past several weeks as a result of the fighting between the forces of the Ukrainian government and the Russian-backed

rebels.

KINKADE: And, Matthew, Rusisa is now politically recognizing documents issued by rebels in eastern Ukraine. This, of course, violates previous

peace agreements, doesn't it?

CHANCE: Well, that's the allegation against Russia that this recognition of the driving licenses and the birth certificates that are issued in the

two rebel self-declared republics in eastern Ukraine is tantamount to that. But the Russians reject it. They say, no. We're still looking at a final

status situation to be agreed with a peace solution.

But they're just doing this for humanitarian reasons. What the Russians say is that you've got to remember there are hundreds of thousands of

people that are effectively trapped inside the war zone. They're basically in that conflict zone in eastern Ukraine. They don't feel they

can travel through Ukraine. They're being bombed there. And so they have to be registered. They need to renew driving licenses and things like

that. And Russia is saying that, you know, it will recognize the documents issued by the self-declared republics, which it doesn't recognize, by the

way - the documents issued by those republics for humanitarian reasons.

Obviously, the critics of Russia, particularly in Ukraine, have said that this is just further evidence of Russia's occupation, further evidence that

Russia is on the road towards recognizing eastern Ukraine as being separate from the country.

KINKADE: OK, Matthew Chance, good to have you with us from our Moscow bureau, thank you very much.

Whether it's Ukraine, Syria or elsewhere, Moscow's policies often don't win many friends in the international community. But regardless of that,

Russia's United Nations ambassador Vitaly Churkin tried to rise above it all. Colleagues past and present say they're stunned by his death after

suffering cardiac arrest on Monday.

CNN's Clare Sebastian was outside the foreign ministry in Moscow as tributes poured in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN MONEY: Despite the freezing temperatures, a steady stream of people have been coming here to the Russian foreign ministry in

Moscow to pay their respects to Vitaly Churkin who served as Russia's ambassador to the UN for more than a decade and had a career in diplomacy

that spanned more than three decades.

He was seen here in Russia as a real representative of Russian interests, someone respected both at home and among his colleagues at the UN. We also

saw the foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, signing a book of remembrance in Moscow. And he had this to say about his colleague.

SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): It is the ability to firmly defend the interests of his country, but never to fall

into heated confrontations, always to seek way for unification based on a balance of interests that are a key quality for a diplomat.

SEBASTIAN: Now, Russian president Vladimir Putin also said to be very upset at the news. He, according to his spokesman, greatly valued the

professionalism and diplomatic talent of Vitaly Churkin.

Now, Churkin's death comes at a critical moment for Russian foreign policy just a month into the new U.S. administration when that relationship was

still just beginning to be formed, certain key sticking points like the crisis in Ukraine.

As for who replaces Vitaly Churkin, not known yet, but that question will be very much under scrutiny.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, just minutes ago, Churkin's colleagues at the United Nations observed a moment of silence in his memory. A rare emotional scene

in the chamber.

Well, Richard Roth is at the United Nations. Richard, just explain how he is being remembered amongst colleagues there?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the paradox of diplomacy. Churkin represented Russia here for 10 years, and most times his vetoes and

positions were strongly disagreed with by a majority of the Security Council, yet an incredible outpouring of reflections, sadness, sympathy,

right now it just occurred inside the UN Security Council.

As the UK ambassador Matthew Rycroft just put it, we disagreed on many issues, but he was a decent colleague and honest, others also saying the

same. Senegal saying he was the spirit of the Security Council. We heard words like he was a diplomatic giant. So, no matter east, west, north, or

south an outpouring for Churkin who was able to present very harsh positions, multiple vetoes on the Syria crisis, arguing with Ukraine on

various issues on eastern Ukraine and aggression there, yet people like the man, they like the twinkle in his eye, the smile.

They could argue heatedly in closed door chambers, but yet outside they were friends. The Japanese ambassador just relating a story just a few

days ago when they were at a restaurant sitting at other separate tables. And Churkin and said what do you recommend Koro (ph) to the Japanese

ambassador and the ambassador turned around and saw his big smile.

Churkin was also kind of loved by the media. He gave honest comments and he spoke to the media, unlike many of the ambassadors here who tend to run

from any sighting of a camera - Lynda.

KINKADE: All right, Richard Roth, good to have you with us for some perspective on his life and what he meant there at the United Nations.

Thank you very much.

Well, you're watching CNN. And this is Connect the World. Still to come, we meet a man who was trapped up in human trafficking in a place you might

not expect. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back.

Well, for four years, a Pakistani man worked seven days a week at a Hong Kong mobile phone store, sleeping on the floor and suffering beatings. He

was never paid a cent.

Eventually he sought help from the government and police, but was turned away.

Finally, a judge ruled that Hong Kong's government failed in its responsibility to protect him.

Alexandra Field reports on his fight for justice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what most of the world pictures when they think of this city.

It isn't his Hong Kong.

"It felt like being in a prison but I couldn't free myself because I wasn't allowed to," he says.

PATRICIA HO, HUMAN RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Trafficking is a very hidden issue.

FIELD: He didn't fall through the cracks in a system human rights attorney, Patricia Ho, argues. Here there is no system.

(on camera): It sounds strange when you say that.

[10:45:09] sHO: It is so shocking.

FIELD (voice-over): Hong Kong has no specific laws criminalizing forced labor or human trafficking.

HO: Even the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, they have forced labor laws.

FIELD: She is fighting to change that.

"My bosses treated me worse than an animal. It was physical torture, mental torture. I would work 24 hours a day," he says.

We aren't showing his face because he lives in fear of retaliation.

He told a Hong Kong court he was brought here from Punjab with another Pakistani family with the promise of work and they kept his paperwork and

didn't pay him. He spent four years in this neighborhood forced to live, eat, work, and sleep in a cell phone store, where he says he was beaten and

abused, and then his boss sent back to Pakistan. He snuck back in by boat.

"Even after I came back to Hong Kong all I was asking for was my wages. I went to several government departments but no one would listen."

The judge concluded his claims were overlooked by the police, the immigration department, and the labor department while he says he faced

threats to his own life and his family.

HO: And throughout all of this, nobody has asked him or considered the fact that perhaps he was a victim of trafficking.

FIELD: The 150-page high court decision in his case is the first ruling that could change that.

"He was left floundering in a system in which concern for victims of human trafficking of forced labor is a rhetorical maneuver," the judge writes.

"This was clearly the fault of the system because of the lack of effective framework or set of measures to address human trafficking or forced labor."

(on camera): The Hong Kong government argues it doesn't need dedicated legislation because it says those offenses are covered under other laws but

they say they are working to combat the problem.

(voice-over): New programs established in the last year include a pilot program in the police force and immigration department to identify victims

along with enhanced screening for victims and improved cooperation between departments ensuring victims know their rights.

Ho hopes it will force the government to reconsider and write a law on trafficking.

HO: Look around the world, New York, London, they all acknowledge serious trafficking problems and that's when they start taking steps to tackle it.

FIELD: Steps this man risked everything to fight for.

Alexandra field, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Be sure to join us tomorrow as well when Alexandra Field takes us to meet two women who were abused in the homes that they worked and lived

in. It's all part of CNN's extraordinary ongoing Freedom Project coverage exposing the plague of human trafficking.

And we are doing more than sending our reporters all around the world. CNN is teaming up with young people on March 14 for My Freedom Day, a unified

sglobal day of action against modern day slavery. Behind it all, the simple question, what does freedom mean to you? Send us your answer as a

text, a photo, or video message across social media using the hashtag #myfreedomday.

Well, we're going to take a very short break now. We will be back in a few moments with a report you don't want to miss. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:16] KINKADE: You're watching Connect the World. And this is CNN. I'm Lynda Kinkade. As we told you at the beginning of the program, U.S.

President Donald Trump is expected to announce a new version of his controversial travel ban. The initial order caused chaos, confusion and

concern. Details of the new policy are not official, so it's not known what that means for Syrian refugees who hope to start a new life in

America.

Well, CNN's Christiane Amanpour went to the largest Syrian refugee came in Jordan. There she found some refugees who would rather just go back to

Syria, but can't.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Walk in to this registration center at the U.N. refugee agency in Amman and suddenly

something about these millenniums desperate refugee story speak to the last millenniums. In this islands Circe in 1900 that was the story gateway to

America.

Here, some 1,000 refugees a day come dressed in their best hoping to find their own gateway to somewhere. Mindful of the Trump administration's

efforts to ban Syrian refugees, the UNHCR Paul Stromberg tell s me vetting here is about as extreme as it gets.

PAUL STROMBERG, UNHCR DEPUTY REPRESENTATIVE: It involves many different agencies in the U.S., different security databases, several different in-

face interviews over period that can last up to two years. Biometric verification at different stages of the process is basically the hardest

way to get to the U.S. soon.

Globally, less than 1 percent of refugees are resettled in...

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: That's tiny.

STROMBERG: It is.

AMANPOUR: A quick walk through revealed endless interview rooms, waiting rooms, biometric testing areas creating an unprecedented and vast data

bank. In this game of human lottery the weakest often wins.

A father moves his face in close for the mandatory eye rays scan and he tells us the family fled war and home in Damascus 2013. Mother Um Ali says

her very young children have been traumatized.

UM ALI, SYRIAN REFUGEE (through translator): At first, we were moving from place to place for fear of the bombings. Nowhere were safe for us and the

children suffered. They were in constant fear, and whenever they heard a noise in their head they started to have some source of post-traumatic

stress.

AMANPOUR: Civilians started to pour out of Syria six years ago, and now more than half a million lived here and a new type of refugee camp has been

born. This is Zaatari, a sprawling refugee city of 80,000 that is more from tents and tarpaulins to fix aboard with electricity. Most of these camps

inhabitants fled when the war erupted in Daraa and may don't want to move any further away just in case.

Imagine living in this camp and knowing that home is 20 kilometers away across the Syrian border. The last big refugee resettlement, so one in

every four families asked didn't want to go to the west. The truth is these people are not clamoring to come over to our homelands; all they want to do

is go back to their own.

Which may explain why this family looks sad and afraid when we meet them just hours before their due to take off for America.

Look at all the suitcases.

Abu Mohammad (Ph) showed me the last minute chaos of packing for her first ever flight and a whole new life, all their worldly possessions carefully

picked out and parcel in eight suitcases, one for each family member.

I ask her husband Abu Muhammad how he feels about traveling all the way from Aleppo to America. It's taking them more than a year of vetting and

paperwork.

Are you excited about going to America?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): For sure.

AMANPOUR: Well, what do you hoping for?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Our house was burned and my in- laws house was also destroyed.

AMANPOUR: This family got their ticket to the USA because they, too, are considered vulnerable. Their oldest lost his hearing when they fled the

bombing and now his speaking is impaired, too.

Have you heard the news from America that the president wanted to say no to Syria refugees and that, you know, there's a lot of problems with

immigration.

ABU MOHAMMED, SYRIAN REFUGEE (through translator): I feel that Donald Trump had a bad picture about Muslims in general, but the American people are

much wiser and know that not all Muslims are the same. They also know that we can live together in peace and harmony. I don't know where he got this

image about us from.

AMANPOUR: Do you know what you're going to, do you have any idea what will happen when you put your feet on American soil?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I have no idea.

AMANPOUR: Outside dust is falling and they must now say their final farewells and board this bus to the airport. As hard as life has been as a

refugee here they made friends and they have a sense that they're all in this together.

Now they have no idea what awaits them at the end of their very long journey. This must be the biggest threat of Abu Ismael's long life, a

grandfather taking his family clear across the world.

Twenty four hours later, here they are in Chicago, tired, rumpled but together, trying out a new word for their new world. While back at the camp

an amazing phenomenon, the triumph of hope over reason.

Every day, Syrians try to voluntarily head back across the border if only Bashar al-Assad and his barrel bombs would let them.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN at Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, you can remember, you can find much more on CNN's in depth reporting and everything the team is keeping an eye on throughout the day

by heading over to Facebook.com/CNNConnect.

We just heard some incredible stories of hope, resilience and the pursuit of the American dream there. Now for your Parting Shots, today marks 52

years since the assassination of a controversial minister and activist who was a central figure during America's civil rights movement, el-Hajj Malik

el-Shabazz, better known as Malcolm X, was an outspoken advocate for racial injustice.

Earlier on, he rejected racial integration and non-violence, but later he embraced other civil rights leaders and urged African-Americans to use

their power at the ballot box.

Malcolm X was gunned down in 1965 by members of the Nation of Islam.

Well, that's it today from here at Connect the World. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I will be back tomorrow.

END