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The AIH Transcript for August 19, 2019

Hosts: Helen Mann and Karen Gordon

NIL KOKSAL: Hello, I’m Helen Mann, sitting in for Carol Off

RAMRAAJH SHARVENDIRAN: Good evening, I'm Ramraajh Sharvendiran. This is As It Happens.

[Music: Theme]

Prologue

RS: Tonight:

HM: Stormy weather. Elections Canada warns environmental groups their paid advertising could constitute partisan political activities — creating fears of a hostile climate for discussing climate change during the campaign.

RS: Long distance calls. Hong Kong is ten-thousand kilometers away — but Hong Kong Canadians are closely following the protests. And, at home, our guest and her mother are divided about which side is right.

HM: Hundreds gather to celebrate a couple starting a new life together. Then, a suicide bomber detonated his vest at a wedding in Kabul — killing more than 60 people, and leaving a city in shock.

RS: From presidential palace to courtroom cage. Sudan's former President Omar al-Bashir goes on trial for corruption. But many are skeptical he'll ever face justice for more serious atrocities committed during his 30 years in power.

HM: The thumb of All Fears years the city of Wellington, New Zealand installs a sculpture of a giant hand with a face above its central square. And it seems most would rather deep six it than high five it.

RS: And… up-snares, down-snares. After years of gathering percussion instruments, the owner of a vintage drum store in Calgary needs someone to take his enormous collection off his hands.

RS: As It Happens, the Monday edition. Radio that recommends it to anyone who enjoys life's symbol pleasures.

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Part one: Climate change elections, Kabul wedding attack, Calgary drum collection

Climate change elections

Guest: Keith Brooks

RS: Environmental groups have been warned to watch what they say during the upcoming federal election campaign. In a training session, Elections Canada reportedly told charities that paid ads about issues like climate change could be considered partisan politician activities, even if they don't specifically endorse a specific political party. That warning has led to concerns that the mere fact of stating that climate change is real could be construed as a political message by Elections Canada. Here's what Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said about the warning today.

SOUNDCLIP

ELIZABETH MAY: I think Elections Canada must reconsider. It's absolutely unacceptable to imagine that organizations that want to comment on the threat of the climate emergency will have to register as a third-party organization. Comments are not partisan. When doctors tell people they have to give up smoking, if Max Bernier were to announce tomorrow smoking is good for you. Do those doctors have to register as a third-party organization in order to say what's true about medical science? This is lunacy. And Elections Canada is not a lunatic organization, so I trust they will clarify and eliminate this ruling.

RS: Elections Canada has pointed out that so-called "issue ads" have long been regulated in Canada during elections. But that hasn't tempered the worry expressed by environmental groups. Keith Brooks is the Programs Director of Environmental Defence. We reached him in Toronto.

HM: Mr. Brooks, what concerns do you have that stating a scientific fact such as pointing out the existence of climate change could be construed as a paid political ad?

KEITH BROOKS: Well, we can still state that climate change is real. We're not barred from doing that. The issue is: are we going to do it in a form of an advertisement? And really, that means are we gonna do it over social media? Because now, if you want to have a message reach people — even those who follow you on say Facebook — you actually need to put a little bit of money behind that in order for it to reach those people. So that's the issue. It's not that we can't speak this. It's that we really are limited our ability to share it with people that are connected to us on social media or email or other ways like that.

HM: What was your initial reaction when you heard that an official from Elections Canada had told NGOs that this was going to be a potential problem?

KB: Well, it's upsetting. I mean climate change is hitting home across Canada. People are feeling the impacts of it. They're increasingly looking for answers, looking for governments to take action. All of the parties you know have positions on climate change. And it's gonna be a big factor during this election. And I think one of the roles for environmental charities like Environmental Defence is to help educate Canadians, help them cut through the spin, and understand you know who has actually got a good climate change plan and who doesn't. And our ability to do that at a time when Canadians are faced with an important decision has been somewhat curtailed. And that's upsetting.

HM: Elections Canada is pointing out today that these rules have been in place for a long time. That they are clear because they want to make sure that an issue ad in which any group or organization takes a position on an issue which a candidate or party is associated with could be a problem. Is it something of a new concern when you're dealing with an issue like climate change?

KB: Well, actually these rules are new rules. It's a new law that was passed just in the past year. This is the first election where we have these new third-party limits of five hundred dollars and whatnot. And this good reason for them because we've seen third-parties intervene in elections and in a pretty big way, right? In Ontario, we saw groups like Ontario Proud play a big role in getting the current government elected. We've certainly seen Facebook campaigns and things like that have influences in the States and other places there. And so there's a reason for Elections Canada to say we want to know who's advertising, who's trying to influence the election. So these are new rules that are being put into place. So I don't know why they're saying that they've actually been there for a long time. This is new.

HM: So you don't agree with that? What are they doing then in putting that statement out?

KB: I'm not sure. But this was a new law. And this is new guidance that Elections Canada has just put out there. And so the new law was passed, and we were seeking clarification about what does this law mean for us? Does it limit our ability to talk about issues that we've been advocating on for a long time? And you know we were talking about carbon pricing, and we were told you can't talk about carbon pricing because that has become a political issue. It's become a partisan issue. Some parties are for it, and some parties are against it. So you can't go there. And we thought we would be okay to talk about climate change because it's a scientific fact, and it's, hopefully, not a partisan issue. Mostly, it's not a partisan issue in that almost all parties agree it's real, it's caused by humans, and something must be done. But now we have this kind of one outlier party that is not even one of the major parties. It's limiting our ability to talk to Canadians, to tell them about an important issue that they care about at a time when it matters a lot because this election will be important with respect to Canada's pathway on climate change.

HM: I just want to clarify something. According to Elections Canada, issue ads have been regulated for the last 20 years. So is it just the five hundred dollar limit that is the new part of that?

KB: The five hundred dollar limit is very small, yeah. And I think that also what counts as election advertising may have changed as well.

HM: You said that there's one party that has a different position on climate change. Maxim Bernier has said publicly he doubts the science of manmade climate change. If he were to make that a key campaign issue does this mean you wouldn't be able to effectively refute that?

KB: That's potentially what the risk is. And I guess Elections Canada has clarified even more today to say they're going to be assessing this on a case-by-case basis. And it's going to be somewhat complaint-driven. So you know basically we don't really know how this is going to go forward. But we have to air on the side of caution. We don't want to get on the wrong side of the law. We don't want to do anything that will be construed as partisan activity. We are a nonpartisan organization. And very we’re very careful about that. And we also don't want our charitable status to be put in jeopardy here. And the important thing here is that even if we were to register as third-parties, we still could not do partisan activity. Charities are prohibited from doing partisan activity at all.

HM: Yeah, so I want to make clear that's one of the issues here. Because if you register as a third-party political advertiser, you can say what you want about any issue. And, in fact, the petroleum producers have just done that in Alberta — the association representing them — but they're not a charity and you are?

KB: That's right, yeah. And I would bet that the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers is going to register for the federal election as well. They've put out a platform document that says what they'd like to see out of the election. And they're not a charity, so they're not constrained, right? They're funded by the oil companies themselves. And so they are free to say whatever they wish and register as a third-party. They can do partisan activity. They can do all of this kind of stuff. But charities are constrained.

HM: You know Elections Canada has a key job when it comes to an election. That's to secure the integrity of democracy. Is it perhaps not better that they air on the side of caution when it comes to regulating any kind of ad that could be trying to influence voters?

KB: Well, like I said, I think there's some good reason for this law to be out there. We have seen social media campaigns that have had a big influence on elections. But I guess the question is you know in the case of climate change, I mean this is a fact right? Scientists agree that this is happening. It's really not something that's being disputed. I think some people on Twitter have been saying well look, what if somebody took a position against vaccinations, or somebody said we live on a flat earth, or somebody said evolution isn't real. I mean are these things now that we're not gonna be able to talk about during an election? So it makes sense that they're going to weigh in here and put some limits on what people can talk about — things that are clearly partisan. But to say that climate change is partisan, that's I think where the problem really is.

HM: Well, Mr. Brooks, I appreciate you sharing your concerns with us. Thank you very much.

KB: Thanks for having me.

RS: Keith Brooks is the Programs Director of the group Environmental Defence. We reached him in Toronto. And we've got more on this story on the As It Happens website: www.cbc.ca/aih.

[Music: Ambient]

Kabul wedding attack

Guest: Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar

RS: It was supposed to be a night of celebration. Instead, this weekend, a horrifying explosion tore through a Kabul wedding. Nearly a thousand guests had been attending the reception at the Dubai City Wedding Hall in the city's west end. At least 60 of them are now dead. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing. And the city where it occurred is reeling. Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar is the Executive Director of Afghanistan's Nai Media Institute. He was attending a wedding in another part of town when Saturday's attack took place. We reached him today in Kabul.

HM: Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar, when did you first hear about this explosion?

ABDUL MUJEEB KHALVATGAR: Almost 20 minutes after the explosion. So I was at another wedding party that heard about that explosion. There was a kind of rumour among the guests that an explosion happened in a wedding party. And then everything was disrupted by that. So people were talking about — and they were saying that — oh, it is a catastrophe, it is a mess, and the music was stopped. And everyone was talking about that oh, what happened in a wedding party — an explosion.

HM: Many are now suggesting that these kinds of public gatherings are fundamentally unsafe and should not be permitted. What is your reaction to that sentiment?

AMK: The government of Afghanistan issued a letter — an official letter — and said that do not celebrate wedding parties. And I think it is a kind of limitation for every people or every person who is living in Kabul. Why? Because the number of people are gathering in a wedding party, and the size of the houses that we are living in in Kabul, it is not possible to bring or grab that much people in a party. So I think it is a kind of limitation on my rights. And my freedom is somehow limited, I think.

HM: Do you think though that people do avoid big gatherings just because they are afraid of this sort of thing in Kabul?

AMK: I think it is more than 48 hours of that explosion. And from that time up to now, some of the wedding party were with less people. And it is because of the fear of that explosion.

HM: The reports say at least 63 people are believed to have been killed in this explosion. Can you tell us what you're hearing — both officially and unofficially — about the people killed, the kinds of injuries that people have suffered as a result of this bombing?

AMK: Officially, it was announced that plus-60 people have been killed, and 180 have been injured. But unofficial sources are saying that 110 people have been killed because some bodies are missing, and some bodies are destroyed and not possible to gather and count. That's why it is not the exact number. And the tens of injuries are not in good condition.

HM: ISIS is claiming responsibility for this attack. When you hear that, what goes through your mind?

AMK: For a victim, it is not very important who is claiming the responsibility. The public of Afghanistan — and the people of Afghanistan — are the victims of terrorism, whether it is by terrorists called Taliban or by terrorists called ISIS. ISIS claimed responsibility after hours of the attack. So some sources are saying that the attack was conducted by Haqqani Network. one of the ex-intelligence head of Afghanistan said that the way that attack happened, it is just similar like Taliban's attack. But just claiming by ISIS they had done the attack. So this kind of thing at the time that we have the peace talks and negotiations with the American and Taliban means that these talks will not be ended with peace. There will be more incidents like this.

HM: Umm hmmm. Just to be clear, the U.S. is negotiating with the Taliban on a deal that would see the removal of thousands of American troops in Afghanistan. What are people saying? I mean you're concerned that this is going to lead to more attacks either by Taliban, ISIS, or Haqqani Network going forward. But generally, what are people saying about the withdrawal of American troops, and why the U.S. government is pursuing that at this point?

AMK: People are having concern of withdrawal. They believe that the war will not be ended, and then a different military elites will be coming and controlling the government of Afghanistan. This kind of situation brings fear for the people, and they are quite hopeless. The United State is trying to withdraw, and make this process fast. I have heard from the people, they say it is because of the interest of the United States. And because of the International and their own national interest, not because of the interest of Afghanistan, and not because of the interest of the public of Afghanistan, or Afghanistan people. I, as a journalist, as well as us a student of political science, I know that we do everything because of our national interest, but we do have some responsibilities of human rights and of human beings. So they have some other responsibilities. Withdrawal is not the solution, I think.

HM: Is there anything in your mind that could happen to secure some peace for Kabul sooner rather than later?

AMK: I think it is very important that the government of Afghanistan, jointly with the international community, and especially with the commander of U.S. forces together issue a statement, and tell for the people that they are here to save people. And the withdrawal of international forces would be conditional. If there is no peace, there will not be a withdrawal. This way people would trust for the future, and people will be having back the hope that they lost.

HM: Thank you for speaking with us. I'm very sorry that your country continues to suffer this kind of violence.

AMK: Thank you very much. Yeah, bye.

RS: Abdul Mujeeb Khalvatgar is the Executive Director of Afghanistan's Nai Media Institute. We reached him in Kabul.

[Music: Horns!]

Calgary drum collection

Guest: Bob Everett

RS: When you walk into Beat It Music in Calgary you'll see two kinds of things: things you can hit, and things you can hit those things with. The place is loaded with cymbals, sticks, snare drums, bongos, kick drums, kick drum pedals — wall to wall, floor to ceiling. Percussion instruments are Bob Everett's passion. But earlier this month he decided that he has to close his store. So now he's looking for a new home for his enormous, historic drum collection. We reached Bob Everett in Calgary.

HM: Mr. Everett, it sounds like you've got a pretty extensive collection. Could you start maybe by telling us about some of the more interesting items?

BOB EVERETT: Well, a lot of people don't realize it, but the drum kit didn't really become an entity until about 1910. And that's when the first drum pedals sort of hit the market. So they were able to take you know a guy playing a bass drum and a guy playing a snare and combine it. So I’ve got a lot of those earlier kits that kind of represented the first attempt you know from 1910, up through up to maybe the early 50s are where a lot of the real interesting ones come from.

HM: What did those early pedles look like? Are they familiar to drummers today?

BE: Well, they're a little slow. But they you know in those days, your job was to keep time. You weren't expected to be a fancy solo player. As a matter of fact, that didn't even become you know something that even appeared until into the 30s. So the types of music that was being played didn't require really fast repetitive bass drum patterns. Some of the stuff they do today is you know really requires as good a pedal as they can make.

HM: This sounds like this whole collection means a lot to you. Why are you letting it go now?

BE: Well, I never did build it to get rid of it. It's just that the economy in Calgary has been slowly strangling my business for several years. And I've done everything I possibly could to inject money in it, raise money, try to increase inventory, and do everything I could. But I was fighting you know a ship that was going down. And it's not that people don’t love the store and then I don't love it. It's just you know you can only battle that economy so long. And when overhead just is there it seems like the day after you just paid it, it's just a battle that I felt you know I'm better off to take this collection I put together and try to put it in the right hands than me lose it all.

HM: Are any of the kits o ones that would belong to music acts that we would know — maybe more contemporary acts, maybe groups from the 60s?

BE: Not really — a lot of local bands. I learned early on that the Calgary the atmosphere here and the temperature and the dryness of the air was perfect for — in Alberta in general — is perfect for preserving kits. So I looked throughout the province, and they may be not famous to the world, but some of them were known acts around Alberta. Some of them were just old guys that kept that kit from you know from their 20s right through till it was time to pass on. I had one kid that a fellow was in the RCAF band, and he ended up I was told he played for Robert Goulet at one point, and was in an RCAF big band. And his kit had a lot of elements of the Second World War. Just because the kit changed at that point because of the lack of metal, and they had to make a number of changes, so those changes are evident in his kit. And then there's several people that have come in, one from Edmonton, a lady from Acme, Alberta that we're just looking for a really good home for their kit. And I would walk out and look in their car, and be blown away with this kit that they'd brought in. And when I made a promise to them that I would keep these kits, and you know and not just buy them to resell them, I think it meant something to them.

HM: So when you look at the whole collection, what do you estimate it's worth?

BE: Well, I put a number of $100,000 on it. As an individual drum, I guess you could go through each one of them and try to get a value, but they're hard to come by, they're unique in a lot of ways, and lot of times there are elements on those kits that are worth a lot. Maybe it's a snare drum, maybe it's a particular symbol, or something of that nature. And the collection that I'm hoping that somebody will step forward and fund to put in the National Music Centre here is well over it's in about 20-25 kits, and they're all in nice shape. There's things that I would probably add to that collection if it ended up in that type of a situation in the museum, try to help them fill in those gaps that that maybe aren't part of this collection. It all depends on who steps forward, I guess. I had one person that wanted to buy it and split it all up and sell pieces all over the country. And that doesn't really sit well with me.

HM: You mentioned you're looking for a buyer. At the same time, you're hoping it's going to end up at the Calgary National Music Centre. You are not though donating it to the centre yourself?

BE: I'm not in a position to do that. I intended to be in business until I become dust in the carpet, or became dust in the carpet. So this economy getting deeper and deeper has forced me into this move. They would love to have it at the National Music Centre — they've got a huge keyboard called board collection, a lot of audio equipment and recording gear. They just ended up with a guitar collection from Randy Bachman, and a lot of other stuff, but they don't have a lot of drums, and they would love to have this in there. But at least with your help, and the Calgary Herald did a good article on it last week, you know the right pair of ears might to hear that I got it. And we'll see where it goes.

HM: Well, Mr. Everett, I wish the very best of luck in finding a buyer to take this collection where you want it to go. Thanks very much for talking to us.

BE: You're welcome. And I appreciate the time on the air, and maybe it'll lead to that right pair of ears. So thanks very much.

HM: I hope so. Okay, you take care. Bye-bye.

BE: You too. Thanks, bye-bye.

RS: Bob Everett is the owner of Beat It Music in Calgary. He's looking for someone to purchase his drum collection. And if you have cool neighbours — or no neighbours — it might be you.

[Music: Up-tempo]

Part two: Hong Kong family tensions, al-Bashir trial

Hong Kong family tensions

Guest: Sora Chan

RS: This weekend, the protests continued in Hong Kong. And in cities across Canada, demonstrators faced off — expressing their support, or disdain, for those protests more than ten thousand kilometres away. And those tensions aren't just being seen on Canadian streets. They're also being felt inside the homes of many Hong Kong Canadians. Sora Chan is one of them. She's a pro-democracy activist who attended the Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong in 2014. She now lives with her mother in Vancouver. That's where we reached her.

HM: Sora, you attended rallies in Vancouver this weekend in support of the Hong Kong protesters. There were also counter rallies supporting the Beijing government. What were the interactions like between the two groups of protesters?

SORA CHAN: It was pretty intense. And people shouting at each other, and even swearing at each other, middle fingers, and like that. So it's kind of pretty intensive.

HM: Beyond swearing, what kind of things were said between the two sides?

SC: For the Hong Kong side, it was like If you insist to stay in Canada, you should agree with what Canadians believe in. As “Oh, Canada” says, we are strong and free. So we have democracy, and that's why you can stand here and express your thoughts — where you can't really do it in China. The other side is like shouting we love China, we love Hong Kong, and we are against the violence, and we are against Hong Kong to be independent, which is none of our request. None of our requests and things that we are asking for is being separated and independent.

HM: I understand these tensions are also present in your own home. How are they playing out?

SC: For my mom, she is mostly concerned about I'm getting into trouble in the future. And maybe she getting into trouble in the future. Her point is more stand on I should love China as the definition of she does. I love China too, but the way that she defines to love China — or being a Chinese — it's a little bit different than my definition. So that's gonna create conflict and fight on that stage.

HM: Right, so she disapproves of you attending these demonstrations. How do you respond to that? What do you say to her?

SC: You know, I respect you as I believe in democracy. So you have the rights. You have your freedom to stand in your point of view. It's fine. Just try not to bother me. And that made me kind of frustrated when she start to pick up a fight. Being aggressive, regarding to know points to the fact or what we are talking about. Only like you're not human, you're not Chinese, and you should not be staying in my house.

HM: So she seems to see loyalty to China — to Beijing — as being part of being proud of being Chinese, of the culture and identity.

SC: Yes.

HM: How is this impact on your day-to-day relationship then with your mom?

SC: It's just being difficult sometimes. Cause sometimes I'm just trying to do my own thing. I'm not even watching the news. I'm not doing anything political. Just maybe studying, having a dinner, having food, having drinks. She will just randomly come up to me and try to show me all these posts to try to convince me try to get me on to her side.

HM: It sounds like your mom is thinking about this at least as much as you are — because she's coming in and talking to you even when you're not engaging her in conversation about it.

SC: Yeah, exactly. And that's how the fight started. [slight laugh]

HM: You as I understand it also participated in the Umbrella Movement protests in 2014. Is it true your grandfather tried to get you to sign some kind of pledge around that?

SC: Yes, when we were having a dim sum.

HM: And what did he want you to do?

SC: Just sign out the form to support the government and the police.

HM: Do you think that he or the other members of his generation or your mom's generation have any doubts? I'm just I'm thinking you mentioned that your mom is fearful that you will get in trouble, that she would get in trouble Is it is it more perhaps worry and concern about that?

SC: Yes, she is worried that my actions is very selfish. It’s going to affect her whole family. You know I clarified that if anything trouble goes to me, okay. And she is just still mad.

HM: Mmm hmm. Living in Vancouver, with so many people who live there with roots in Hong Kong and mainland China, is it hard to avoid the topic?

SC: It's very hard. Society problems is always gonna affect the community and social circle. There's no doubt. But for here, see we have a lot of dim sum place. And if I don't talk about it, the next table might talk about it. And it's kind of going through on our table as well when we hear someone else is talking about that.

HM: So it's hard to avoid talking politics even if your intentions aren’t to.

SC: Yeah, it's kind of hard. Ss the issues in Hong Kong's heated, and unrest, it's not gonna calm down off the conversation and topic that we are going to talk about here in Vancouver too.

HM: Mmm hmmm. Do you think there's anything that that could change the position that your mom has taken, or do you think there's any way you might find some common ground going forward on this?

SC: I don't think so. Honestly, their point of view, it's so different. And it can't really come to middle ground or compromise. They want to be stable. They want to stay safe they. They’re anti-violence, but they don't really look at why that happened, and why does it need to be happening.

HM: Sora, thank you very much. I'm sorry this is playing out in both places — both in your home, and to see these kind of tensions affecting your community as well. But I appreciate you talking to us about it. Thank you very much.

SC: No problem.

HM: Bye-bye.

SC: Goodbye.

RS: Sora Chan is a Hong Kong-Canadian pro-democracy activist. We reached her in Vancouver.

[Music: Indie rock]

Israeli Congresswomen

RS: You may have heard the news last week that Israel said it would bar two U.S. Congresswomen from visiting. That announcement came after U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter to urge Israel to block Democrat lawmakers Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. The congresswomen support the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, or BDS, movement. And Israel's Prime Minister said their itinerary showed that their, quote, "sole intention was to harm Israel." Unquote. Rashida Tlaib was later given permission to visit her grandmother — but she declined. And today, the Congresswoman held a press conference in Minnesota. Here's some of what she had to say.

SOUNDCLIP

RASHIDA TLAIB: As a young girl, visiting Palestine to see my grandparents and extended family, I watched as my mother had to go through dehumanizing checkpoints. [breaking down] Even though she was a United States citizen and proud American, I was there when my Setti [Lebanese for grandmother] was in a terrible car accident. And my cousins and I cried, so she could have access to the best hospitals — which were in Jerusalem. I remember shaking with fear when checkpoints appeared in a small village, tanks and guns everywhere. I remember visiting East Jerusalem with my then husband, and him escorted off the bus, although he was a United States citizen. Just so security forces could harass him. All I can do as my Setti’s granddaughter, as the as the granddaughter of a woman who lives in occupied territory, is to elevate her voice by exposing the truth the only way I know how. As my Detroit Public Schools teachers taught me — by humanizing the pain of oppression. The delegation would have seen firsthand why walls are destructive, not productive. They could have asked the people in Bethlehem how walls cut people off away from economic opportunities, from a way to live, and do psychological damage that lasts forever. All I can do as her granddaughter is help humanize her and the Palestinian people's plight. I know that when we can finally see them as deserving of human dignity, everyone who lives there will be able to live in peace. It is unfortunate that Prime Minister Netanyahu has apparently taken a page out of Trump's book in even just direction from Trump to deny this opportunity.

RS: That was U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib speaking in Minnesota today.

[Music: Sombre]

al-Bashir trial

Guest: Sally Nabil

RN: He was once the most powerful man in Sudan. But in a courtroom in Khartoum today, it was finally clear how far he had fallen. Omar al-Bashir stood in a cage, at the opening of his trial. And although many Sudanese would have liked to see the deposed leader facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, he's facing much lesser charges. He's accused of corruption, after over a hundred million dollars in cash was found in his home. Sally Nabil is a BBC reporter who has been covering the trial. We reached her in Khartoum.

HM: Sally, can you describe the scene in and around the courtroom as Mr. al-Bashir appeared at his trial?

SALLY NABIL: Yes, the former president, he went into the court in a heavily secured convoy. We could barely see him. I didn't see him at all. He was inside his car. Video cameras were not allowed inside. I mean the only picture we got of him in the dock was a still picture. He stayed in court for about an hour or so, and then he was driven back to prison in exactly the same convoy.

HM: This is the man who is president of Sudan until last April; he'd been so for almost 30 years. What was it like for people in Sudan to know he was appearing in the dock and to see that photo?

SN: I've been talking to people actually before and after the court. And all of them agree on one main thing: they are happy to see him behind bars. But he is being tried on corruption charges. And for many people here this is totally unsatisfactory. They hold Mr. Bashir accountable for literally all the human rights violations that took place in Sudan during his rule over the past three decades. They say he is responsible for genocide, for mass murder, arbitrary arrests, ethnic cleansing, and here they are referring specifically to what happened in the western region in Darfur.

HM: Let's start though with those corruption charges. What is the prosecution's case against Mr. al-Bashir in this particular trial?

SN: When security forces raided his house, after he stepped down, they found large amounts of money and foreign cash. And this is why he's being prosecuted. They say that he received money from foreign countries in an illegal way, and he possessed foreign cash illegally. His lawyers, I've been talking some of them outside court, and they say that these charges are baseless. And that he's spent all this money to support some projects inside the country. In other words, he didn't put it in his own pocket. But the session today was still his first session. So it was merely a procedural one.

HM: According to authorities, more than 100 million dollars in cash was found in a sack at his home. Whether that number is accurate or not, how do Mr. Bashir and his lawyers explain that they?

SN: They didn’t, to be honest. They didn't explain much. They just gave some very general statements. Even his supporters, I mean when you when you talk to his supporters, for example, they say all the charges are politicized. No one gives you a clear explanation what was all this money doing in his house. And when you talk about millions of dollars, and you compare it to what you see here in this country, this raises a lot of questions. If he possessed all this money, why did he keep his country and his people in such poor living conditions? This country lacks infrastructure — proper infrastructure. People are complaining about high prices, inflation rate is above 50 per cent according to official statistics. They have chronic shortage of fuel, of bread, of very basic supplies. I mean if you pass by any gas station, for example, you'd find long, long queues of cars waiting to get some petrol. So they are suffering big time. And when you talk to them about their dreams for the future, they always mention the deteriorating living conditions. And when you put this picture just next to millions of dollars that have been found in Bashir’s house, you can understand why they are so angry. And they want this man to be fairly tried.

HM: You said earlier that people really want to see Mr. al-Bashir tried for atrocities committed during his time as president. The International Criminal Court has got an arrest warrant out for him. They would like him to face war crimes charges. Do you think it's likely that he will ever actually face those charges?

SN: Actually, on an official level, when we talk from an official perspective, there is no word so far from the Sudanese authorities that they are going to hand over former President Bashir to the International Criminal Court. An arrest warrant has been issued against him back in 2009, so it's ten years ago. And he's been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity — specifically in Darfur. And when I talk to people about that, some of them said yes, we want him to stand an international trial because we want to set the precedence here. We want to send a message for the world. It's about that no matter how long you stay in power, you eventually have to pay for what you've done. Because some people here they are not really quite sure that his trial is going to be fair. They say that the judiciary, at the moment, is made up of people who have been appointed by Bashir himself. So how can they guarantee that his trial is going to be fair?

HM: Well, Sally, I appreciate you bringing us up to speed on the situation. We'll continue to keep an eye on it in the weeks and months to come. Thank you.

SN: Thank you. Thank you.

HM: All right.

SN: My pleasure.

HM: Bye-bye.

SN: Thanks, bye.

RN: Sally Nabil is a reporter for the BBC. We reached her in Khartoum, Sudan.

[Music: Jazz]

Hand sculpture

RS: On the one hand, it's just one hand, and it's meant to be a helping hand. On the other hand, most people are scared when they get firsthand experience of the giant secondhand hand. Today, a sculpture by artist Ronnie Van Hout was installed on the the roof of the Wellington City Gallery in New Zealand. It's called "Quasi." It's a hand. A large hand — five metres, or sixteen feet, tall. Oh, and it has a face. Mr. Van Hout's face. It stands on its index and middle fingers, looking grumpily out over the city's Civic Square. The huge hand is a recent transplant from the roof of Christchurch Art Gallery. In 2016, when it was first put up in Christchurch, Mr. Van Hout appeared in a short video explaining his manual labour of love.

SOUNDCLIP

[Music: a slow piano arpeggio]

RONNIE VAN HOUT: It should make people smile. And be able to relate to it in a certain way. It's not scary, necessarily. And I think these are sort of a childlike sort of child sort of animated movie or kind of a puppet hand or something — something inoffensive.

RS: Quasi was meant as a kind of guardian angel, as Christchurch rebuilt after the 2011 earthquake. Now it's sternly overseeing the revitalization of Wellington's Civic Square after that city's 2016 earthquake. But so far, Mr. Van Hout's modest beliefs that it's "inoffensive" and "not scary necessarily" don't seem to be widely shared. Instead, people are calling it "disturbing," "disgusting," and "the stuff of nightmares." Well, Wellingtonians better just knuckle down and get used to it. Because the Gallery says the sculpture will be up there for as long as three years, which means it both is, and has, the upper hand.

[Music: Acoustic guitar]

Car auction

RS: The high-stakes game of bidding in an auction can provide a certain incomparable thrill. Even if the bids aren't real. This past weekend, during Monterey Car Week, attendees at the R-M Sotheby's Auction were taken for a bit of a ride, when a 1939 Porsche Type 64 went up for bidding. Bidding on that vintage roadster was expected to open at 13-million dollars U.S. But that number was quickly left in the dust — leaving attendees in awe. Including car collector David Lee, who captured the pedal-to-the-metal action on his Instagram account.

SOUNDCLIP

[A man starts at 40 million and goes down to 17 million as the crowd boos]

RS: Those were the sounds of disappointment at the R-M Sotheby's Auction in Monterey, California this past Saturday. Attendees saw the bids leap by nearly 10-million dollar increments — only to have the auctioneer clarify his pronunciation, and correct the false, inflated numbers appearing on the screen. The 1939 Porshe Type 64 at the centre of it all failed to meet the seller's minimum sale price, and sadly was not sold.

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August 19, 2019 episode transcript

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