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1:13

Hello. Today, Today South in

1:15

the South Korean soul, where where

1:18

memories of the country's

1:20

past bloomed large the the

1:22

President declared martial law this

1:24

week. In In South Africa

1:26

our correspondent descends into

1:28

the hidden underground world of

1:30

the country's illegal illegal We're

1:32

in the bustling city

1:34

of of Almaty in Kazakhstan, where where

1:36

are are living in the

1:38

shadows, having escaped detention

1:40

in China's province. And in and

1:42

in Ireland the governing coalition was

1:44

returned to power this week, the

1:46

but the veneer of stability may

1:49

be more fragile than it looks. first

1:51

to But first which the which the

1:53

United Nations has described as biggest crisis

1:55

in the world. world. The The

1:58

northeast African country has been been a

2:00

brutal civil war between the regular

2:02

army and the paramilitary rapid support

2:05

forces. Both sides have been accused

2:07

of war crimes. Since fighting began

2:09

in April last year it's estimated

2:11

that tens of thousands of people

2:14

have been killed on more than

2:16

11 million displaced. Few journalists have

2:18

been permitted to travel to Darfur,

2:20

where much of the fighting has

2:23

taken place. But our chief international

2:25

correspondent, Lees Doucette, managed to gain

2:27

access by travelling with the UN.

2:29

Her report starts in Port Sudan.

2:32

Where is my mother? Where is

2:34

my father? That's what Noor Hussain

2:36

keeps asking. She's asked it all

2:39

her life. Even now, 52 years

2:41

old, with children of her own.

2:43

She says she keeps asking. The

2:45

Sudanese orphan is called Mama Noor

2:48

now. She's a mother, a godsend,

2:50

to more than 8,000 people so

2:52

far who've come through her centre

2:54

which shelters orphans, as well as

2:57

single women pregnant through accident abuse.

2:59

or the rampant sexual violence of

3:01

this war. And she helps them

3:03

keep their children, so there aren't

3:06

more orphans like her. Her foundation

3:08

is called Shama, The Candle. Even

3:10

her smile lights up the room

3:12

in her new makeshift centre in

3:15

a humble mud building in a

3:17

dirt yard. But Mama Noor, big

3:19

in every way, is also steely

3:22

like a tank. When Sudan's heinous

3:24

war erupted last year in the

3:26

capital cartoon, armed men turned their

3:28

guns on her, ordering her to

3:31

hand over the women and girls

3:33

in her care, Mama Noor stood

3:35

her ground. She fled with them

3:37

to Central Sudan. War followed them

3:40

there. So they headed north to

3:42

the city of Port Sudan on

3:44

the Red Sea, which has turned

3:46

into a hub for an aid

3:49

community struggling to respond to the

3:51

enormous needs. We met Mama Noor

3:53

on our visit to Sudan, a

3:55

neighbouring Chad, with the UN's new

3:58

humanitarian Fletcher, he chose Sudan as

4:00

his first mission, to highlight that

4:02

in a world of all too

4:04

many crises, Sudan is the worst

4:07

in every way. But he calls

4:09

Sudan's war the invisible war, because

4:11

it's not getting the aid, the

4:14

intention, being directed to other grievous

4:16

wars, including Gaza and Ukraine. But

4:18

it's not invisible to the Sudanese,

4:20

to the aid workers, and not

4:23

invisible if you manage to travel

4:25

to Sudan. but it's so hard

4:27

for journalists to get visas to

4:29

get there. Too few have been

4:32

able to be on the ground,

4:34

most of all in Darfur, where

4:36

the worst of the worst is

4:38

happening, where famine has already been

4:41

declared in one area, where ethnic

4:43

cleansing is happening again. Two decades

4:45

ago, Darfur dominated the headlines when

4:47

an infamous Arab militia, known as

4:50

the Janjouid, targeted and terrorized non-Arab

4:52

communities. The International Criminal Court issued

4:54

indictments against the then President Omar

4:56

al-Basir on three counts of genocide.

4:59

He continues to evade arrest. Now

5:01

it is the paramilitary forces which

5:03

rose from the Janjaweed, the rapid

5:06

support forces, the RSF, along with

5:08

their Arab allies, who are being

5:10

accused once again of massacres so

5:12

systematic, human rights groups call it

5:15

a possible genocide. The RSF, which

5:17

now controls most of Darfur, is

5:19

locked in battle with the Sudanese

5:21

military to take charge in Sudan.

5:24

Human rights groups say the army

5:26

has also turned its guns and

5:28

warplanes on its own people. Both

5:30

sides deny they've committed atrocities. But

5:33

we heard so many terrible stories.

5:35

We heard them at an informal

5:37

camp near the main border crossing

5:39

into Darfur in neighbouring Chad. A

5:42

vast open field stretching in every

5:44

direction. The biggest crowd of its

5:46

kind all of us had ever

5:49

seen. An anxious crowd of women

5:51

and their children from Darfur. women

5:53

who surrounded us said they all

5:55

came from Elginina about an hour's

5:58

drive away. They all spoke of

6:00

losing their loved ones. Of their

6:02

belongings looted, their houses burned. They

6:04

killed my aunties, they killed my

6:07

uncles, they killed all the men

6:09

in my family. A 14-year-old girl

6:11

told us, speaking calmly and quietly.

6:13

Everyone was asking, just like Mama

6:16

Noor, where is my father? Where

6:18

are my loved ones? We crossed

6:20

the official border into Darfur, on

6:22

a road no more than a

6:25

dirt track, across a desolate semi-desert

6:27

plateau, dotted by half-built and abandoned

6:29

houses, until we reached the outskirts

6:31

of Elginina. and travelled through a

6:34

ghost town, chillingly silent. It told

6:36

the stories we heard from the

6:38

women, loud and clear, the charred

6:41

houses, the empty shops, where shutters

6:43

were smashed, the neighbourhoods where you

6:45

could still taste the smoke from

6:47

the fires which burned here, where

6:50

you can still feel the horror

6:52

of what happened, suffering without limits.

6:54

That's what Mama Noor calls it.

6:56

like so many Sudanese we met.

6:59

She told us it was up

7:01

to the Sudanese themselves to stop

7:03

it, to tell all those harming

7:05

the people, shame on you. But

7:08

she knows, everyone knows, how hard

7:10

it's been to stop this war,

7:12

to stop the flow of arms

7:14

from powerful countries in this region

7:17

with their own interests. The people

7:19

of Sudan know they can't do

7:21

this on their own. They need

7:24

help. To end this fight, help

7:26

just to feed the people. Even

7:28

Mama Noor has had to admit.

7:30

We're exhausted. Lee's du set. It's

7:32

been an unexpectedly turbulent week in

7:35

South Korea. In a live televised

7:37

address to the nation, President Yun

7:39

declared martial law to save the

7:41

country from what he called anti-state

7:43

forces among his domestic political opponents.

7:45

Marshall law was last introduced in

7:47

the country in 1979, sparked by

7:49

the assassination of a former military

7:52

ruler in a coup. Today, South

7:54

Korea a far cry from its

7:56

past, widely recognized as a stable

7:58

and prosperous democracy, which is why

8:00

the announcement sent shockwaves around the

8:02

world. Jake Kwan describes the moment

8:04

the President made his announcement, and

8:06

the swift decisive response both by

8:09

MPs and South Korean citizens. I

8:11

don't remember the dictatorship. I was

8:13

born in the same year South

8:15

Korea's last dictator John Duhan stepped

8:17

down. I learned about the curfews

8:19

and nighttime arrests that defined that

8:21

era in newsreals and movies. And

8:23

the stories my father told me.

8:26

He would grow agitated whenever he

8:28

talked about those old stories. throwing

8:30

air punches at an imaginary Mr.

8:32

Chun. But when he called me

8:34

after hearing President Yunso Guil had

8:36

just declared martial law, I didn't

8:38

hear indignation or anger, but fear

8:40

in his voice. I told him,

8:42

I'm going to the National Assembly

8:45

to report on what was going

8:47

on. He told me not to

8:49

go. He said, it's dangerous. They'll

8:51

arrest you. I remember laughing off

8:53

his concerns, feigning nonchalance. I'm a

8:55

journalist, working for foreign media. They

8:57

will not touch me, I said.

8:59

You don't know what they can

9:02

do," he replied. I told him

9:04

nothing bad would happen, but I

9:06

don't think I fully believed it

9:08

myself. I had already heard the

9:10

news before my dad called when

9:12

I got notifications on my phone.

9:14

I assumed it was a mistake.

9:16

But when I saw President Yun's

9:19

address to the nation on television,

9:21

I realized it was all too

9:23

real. My hands were shaking so

9:25

much, I had trouble typing out

9:27

his speech for the news bulletin.

9:29

There was a big lump in

9:31

my throat. This is 2024 in

9:33

Seoul, South Korea. This couldn't happen

9:36

here. I always told people, this

9:38

is one of Asia's very few

9:40

democracies. Reading about the 1987 movement

9:42

that restored free and direct elections,

9:44

after nearly 30 years of autocratic

9:46

rule, it always filled me with

9:48

a sense of pride. But now,

9:50

the president had just declared martial

9:52

law. My phone was frantically beeping

9:55

every few minutes as news alerts

9:57

post incessant updates. The general has

9:59

given the order. No more freedom

10:01

of press, one alert read. No

10:03

more political parties. No more gatherings.

10:05

We made a beeline for the

10:07

National Assembly in Yongdingpo District, where

10:09

lawmakers were gathering just like us.

10:12

politicians were doing everything they could

10:14

to get into the building. It

10:16

had emerged that the only way

10:18

to cancel the martial law is

10:20

for 150 MPs to gather and

10:22

vote against it. One told me

10:24

over the phone that fully armed

10:26

soldiers were already in the Assembly

10:29

building. Helic Helicopters were landing on

10:31

its roof carrying special forces. All

10:33

the civil servants and lawmakers were

10:35

stacking up chairs, tables, whatever they

10:37

could find to barricade the building

10:39

to prevent soldiers from coming in.

10:41

Another MP was completely out of

10:43

breath when he answered my call.

10:46

The police blocked him from entering

10:48

the assembly grounds. He gathered a

10:50

few citizen supporters to help him

10:52

clamber over the fence and was

10:54

now sprinting to the main hall.

10:56

I arrived to find a chaotic

10:58

scene. The sound of sirens pierced

11:00

the air. Red and blue flashes

11:03

of police cars illuminated the darkness,

11:05

and police were lining up along

11:07

the fences around the assembly grounds.

11:09

As I was running to the

11:11

gate, I could hear the surrounding

11:13

crowd chant, Down with autocrat! No,

11:15

no martial law! Hundreds of protesters

11:17

of all ages were there, from

11:19

young students to the elderly, despite

11:22

the icy temperatures. It was hard

11:24

to believe that this crowd was

11:26

technically now illegal. South Korea, without

11:28

protest, is like a meal without

11:30

rice. It's such a crucial part

11:32

of the culture, and the people

11:34

know how to turn it into

11:36

a party, packed with songs, group

11:39

chants, dances, and open mic sessions.

11:41

Inside the assembly building, things were

11:43

a lot more violent. We saw

11:45

dramatic videos of AIDS spraying fire

11:47

extinguishers at the soldiers while a

11:49

female lawmaker grabbed the barrel of

11:51

a gun screaming at the soldier,

11:53

aren't you ashamed? Outside, one protester

11:56

climbed on an impromptu stage and

11:58

started shouting, I am a UN

12:00

voter, which is a pretty bright

12:02

to say in public these days.

12:04

President Yun has been very very

12:06

unpopular well before this fiasco. Then

12:08

he said, but he had really

12:10

crossed the line. I regret voting

12:13

for him. And the crowd cheered.

12:15

A little after 1 a.m. a

12:17

large cheer burst up from the

12:19

crowd. We won! We won! they

12:21

said. The 190 lawmakers who somehow

12:23

hopped the fence were snuck inside

12:25

the building had unanimously voted to

12:27

strike down martial law. For people

12:29

like me who don't remember the

12:32

time of a strongman, and that

12:34

includes nearly all the police and

12:36

soldiers we saw that night, many

12:38

of us were thinking, it cannot

12:40

happen here. And for those who

12:42

remember the time before, it's a

12:44

reminder that it could. An old

12:46

man watching from afar told me

12:49

he remembers the military rule. It

12:51

was a terrible time, he said,

12:53

and having lived through it, he

12:55

had to come out tonight. It

12:57

cannot happen here again. Jay Kwan.

12:59

Next we're in Kazakhstan, where many

13:01

Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs have fled

13:03

from neighbouring Xinjiang province in China's

13:06

northwest. The region is rich in

13:08

farming and home to China's lucrative

13:10

tomato industry, which has been linked

13:12

to forced labour among the Uyghur

13:14

people and other largely Muslim minorities.

13:16

The UN has accused the Chinese

13:18

state of torture and abuse. And

13:20

although China views these minority communities

13:23

as a security risk, it denies

13:25

it forces people to work in

13:27

the tomato industry and says workers'

13:29

rights are protected by law. I'm

13:31

sitting in a pretty unremarkable landrover

13:33

in an otherwise entirely empty car

13:35

park when a white vehicle slowly

13:37

pulls up, in an otherwise entirely

13:39

empty car park, when a white

13:42

vehicle slowly pulls up directly in

13:44

front of us. Its driver, a

13:46

man with a mop of brown

13:48

hair draped over his face and

13:50

wearing sunglasses, stares at us through

13:52

his rear view mirror. This is

13:54

the car park equivalent of someone

13:56

sitting to you on an empty

13:59

bus and I'm nervous. This is

14:01

the second time this has happened

14:03

and I wonder are we being

14:05

followed? Is this in fact an

14:07

effort to let us know we're

14:09

being watched? Well it's almost impossible

14:11

to say but after two weeks

14:13

in Kazakhstan I'm left feeling on

14:16

edge looking over my shoulder at

14:18

practically every turn and as I'm

14:20

to learn this is part of

14:22

the everyday reality of the people

14:24

I'm here to meet. I arrive

14:26

in the bustling metropolis of Almaty,

14:28

Kazakhstan's second city to meet Uyghurs

14:30

and ethnic Kazakhs, who fled persecution,

14:33

including forced labour, mass detention and

14:35

other serious human rights abuses in

14:37

Xinjiang in northwest China. The UN

14:39

has detailed these abuses, but China

14:41

says their report is based on

14:43

disinformation and lies. China and Kazakhstan

14:45

share a border, so it's no

14:47

surprise the country is home to

14:49

a sizable community of people who

14:52

once called Xinjiang home. But barely

14:54

anyone is willing to risk speaking

14:56

to us. I meet one ethnic

14:58

Kazakh woman who was once detained

15:00

in China. Let's call her Samal

15:02

in the offices of a human

15:04

rights lawyer. But even here, we

15:06

have to be careful. Lawyer Aina

15:09

tells me she's often under surveillance.

15:11

Her car has been followed. She's

15:13

faced intimidation by strangers in the

15:15

street. Why? Because of her work

15:17

helping escapees like Samal. Her office

15:19

walls were painted with quotes and

15:21

phrases related to her work. Freedom

15:23

of association, freedom of rights. Free

15:26

speech, but I sense that no

15:28

one here feels fully free. We

15:30

sit next to an open window.

15:32

Somal frequently breaks eye contact with

15:34

me to look outside, then swings

15:36

round to look over at the

15:38

table where her phone sits, buzzing

15:40

and ringing constantly. We speak mostly

15:43

in Mandarin. Somal lives on her

15:45

phone, but not in that social

15:47

media-obsessed way that many of us

15:49

do. Her phone holds a direct

15:51

line to everything, everyone she loved

15:53

and left back home in China.

15:55

day in, day out, she sits

15:57

phone in hand waiting and hoping

15:59

for updates and word from relatives

16:02

yet to make it out. I

16:04

ask about life before things started

16:06

to change in Xinjiang. Back in

16:08

China, Somal had been the breadwinner

16:10

for her family and had a

16:12

stable job. I spent my whole

16:14

life working a job, being honest

16:16

and loyal. I couldn't imagine that

16:19

my life would turn out like

16:21

this, Somal tells me. But in

16:23

2015, everything changed. It felt like

16:25

the sky fell into the earth,

16:27

she says. She'd been on a

16:29

trip to Kazakhstan to visit relatives,

16:31

and when she returned to Xinjiang,

16:33

she was detained, she was told,

16:36

for making too many trips to

16:38

Kazakhstan. During her detention in a

16:40

camp, she was responsible for looking

16:42

after many of the elderly who'd

16:44

been taken in alongside her. She

16:46

tells me how the elderly were

16:48

mistreated and that Uyghur people in

16:50

particular were treated mercilessly. Those that

16:53

were able to were forced to

16:55

work, she says with no pay.

16:57

She says she also learned how

16:59

China has used forced labour on

17:01

a vast scale to produce tomatoes,

17:03

something China denies. She tells me

17:05

a son of her relative was

17:07

made to work in the industry.

17:10

Through him, she found out that

17:12

these tomatoes were being shipped across

17:14

the world, and that the younger,

17:16

able-bodied and less educated were targeted

17:18

for this forced labour. We'd come

17:20

to Kazakhstan to find out more

17:22

about people like her. I wonder

17:24

what are the chances of her

17:26

finding a fresh start here in

17:29

Kazakhstan. Currently, Somal has the right

17:31

to remain, as she's ethnically Kazakh,

17:33

but she's awaiting the outcome of

17:35

her application for citizenship. She's in

17:37

limbo, and with no knowledge of

17:39

Russian, most people, like Somal, feel

17:41

completely alone. You can officially call

17:43

us the walking dead, she muses.

17:46

She was released from detention in

17:48

Xinjiang on the condition that she

17:50

wouldn't speak about what happened in

17:52

the camps, but this has left

17:54

her even more isolated. Stories like

17:56

hers, she says, were supposed to

17:58

stay secret. The world isn't supposed

18:00

to know what. happening in Xinjiang.

18:03

She tells me there are eyes

18:05

everywhere there, speaking of the surveillance

18:07

for which the region is now

18:09

known. But the community here in

18:11

Kazakhstan also fears the long arm

18:13

of the Chinese state, and that

18:15

the close diplomatic ties between the

18:17

two countries could mean these eyes

18:20

of following her to Kazakhstan too.

18:22

This is why Somal can't relax.

18:24

Why, while trying to investigate this

18:26

story here, I felt I couldn't

18:28

either. Why Somal is always looking

18:30

out of that window. The pressure

18:32

still haunts us, she says, even

18:34

here. If

18:37

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on ads and more time with

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19:11

South Africa, there's an ongoing standoff

19:13

between the authorities and hundreds, possibly

19:16

thousands, of illegal workers living down

19:18

an abandoned gold mine southwest of

19:20

Johannesburg. A government minister promised to

19:22

smoke out the miners, and security

19:25

forces briefly stopped food and water

19:27

from being sent down the mine

19:29

before a court ruled against them.

19:32

South Africa accounts for nearly a

19:34

third of all the gold ever

19:36

mined. But with many old mines

19:39

closed in recent years, illegal mining

19:41

has become rife. Nomsa Masseco recalls

19:43

her first time entering this hidden

19:46

world. I can still remember the

19:48

smell of decomposing flesh. It was

19:50

my first time visiting a mine

19:53

in the town of Springs just

19:55

east of Johannesburg, where of illegal

19:57

miners had died during a rock

19:59

fall after they used dynamite to

20:02

expose the gold ore from the

20:04

rock beneath the earth surface. Police

20:06

who were on the scene said

20:09

it would be too risky to

20:11

rescue those whose screams and cries

20:13

for help could be heard above

20:16

ground. Some of the illegal miners

20:18

said a bolder the size of

20:20

a car killed their fellow countrymen

20:23

who was from Zimbabwe. They couldn't

20:25

bring his body to the surface,

20:27

so they tore a piece of

20:29

fabric from the dead miners' t-shirt

20:32

and handed it over to his

20:34

sobbing wife. That was 11 years

20:36

ago, but it's a story that

20:39

will forever be etched in my

20:41

memory. A subsequent investigation into illicit

20:43

mining then led me to a

20:46

group of Zamazamas. illegal workers from

20:48

neighboring Lesotho. I was aware of

20:50

the dangers the supposedly friendly gang

20:53

came with. I got to learn

20:55

about their lives and how unemployment

20:57

forced them into crime. My new

20:59

acquaintances were often armed with AK-47s

21:02

and knives. At first, I gave

21:04

them a camera to film underground.

21:06

I gave up on it after

21:09

a week when they didn't return,

21:11

but I was surprised when I

21:13

received a call a month later

21:16

with incredible footage of their life

21:18

underground. The gang controlled what had

21:20

become a little town, complete with

21:23

markets and a red light district

21:25

deep underground at a disused mine

21:27

in Benoni, east of Joberg. After

21:29

some time, I plucked up the

21:32

courage to go down the shaft,

21:34

taking a creaking lift, 1,500 meters

21:36

below the surface. I struggled to

21:39

breathe. It was hot. I felt

21:41

the makeup melt from my forehead.

21:43

salty sweat stang my eyelashes. The

21:46

torch I held in front of

21:48

me lit up my way, and

21:50

there it was, specs of gold

21:53

were visible on the crevices of

21:55

the side walls, indicating the presence

21:57

of gold deposits. I was distracted

21:59

by the sound digging in the

22:02

distance. We were told it was

22:04

likely a rival group searching for

22:06

their own fortune using rudimentary tools.

22:09

We went on through the cave

22:11

to an extremely expensive underground market.

22:13

Items sell at four to five

22:16

times the normal price. Bread, canned

22:18

tuna fish, boiled eggs, maquieu, a

22:20

high-energy drink made from fermenting maize

22:23

mill in water. Batteries and tortures

22:25

were also on display and selling

22:27

fast. This is just the sort

22:29

of existence that the miners deep

22:32

underground at another disused gold mine

22:34

in Stillfrontane, a living in the

22:36

Northwest Province. And it's the subject

22:39

of a major standoff between illegal

22:41

workers and South African authorities who

22:43

want to put a stop to

22:46

illegal mining. part of a policy

22:48

called Operation Valomgodi, or plug the

22:50

hole. The gangs underground make more

22:53

money now than ever before. Many

22:55

of them are former mine workers

22:57

made redundant when gold mines closed

22:59

down in the 90s. They went

23:02

back underground to make money for

23:04

their families, the only way they

23:06

know. The standoff between the Zamazamas

23:09

and police is unlikely to end

23:11

any time soon. as illegal mining

23:13

has become highly lucrative for everyone

23:16

involved in the salusive industry. To

23:18

curb the problem, the army has

23:20

been deployed to close down all

23:23

shafts that were left exposed by

23:25

mine owners, but the gangs are

23:27

using their high caliber weapons to

23:30

keep them at bay. I met

23:32

up with Dumiso, a Zamazama in

23:34

Still Fontaine. He resurfaced a week

23:36

before the government crackdown began. He'd

23:39

been underground since mid-September and normally

23:41

stays there for three months at

23:43

a time. Dumiso told me about

23:46

the countless dead bodies trapped below

23:48

the surface. Some were killed by

23:50

rival gangs and robbed of their

23:53

gold while others perished from rock

23:55

falls, he tells me. Despite this,

23:57

Dumiso and many others keep going

24:00

back in the hope of finding

24:02

more He joined a syndicate which

24:04

ensures his protection while underground and

24:06

also ensures that the gold is

24:09

sold to the highest bidder once

24:11

he's back on the surface. Many

24:13

have been calling on the government

24:16

to go after the kingpins instead

24:18

of the workers underground. But allegations

24:20

that top officials could be involved

24:23

in even ringleaders, which they deny,

24:25

would make this problem difficult to

24:27

police. And although life underground is

24:30

fraught with danger, it's a risk

24:32

thousands lightened to me so are

24:34

willing to take in the absence

24:36

of other available work. Nomsa Maseko.

24:39

Ireland's elections last weekend did not

24:41

prove to be a political game

24:43

changer, unlike other polls this year.

24:46

The two main parties received an

24:48

equal share of the vote, and

24:50

following a coalition agreement made in

24:53

2020 in which they agreed to

24:55

rotate the leadership, Michel Martin will

24:57

return as Taoiseach for the second

25:00

time. This consensus all seems pretty

25:02

straightforward to an outsider, but scratch

25:04

the surface and there's an underlying

25:06

anti-establishment sentiment, says Chris Page. The

25:09

country on the edge of Europe

25:11

emerged from its election as an

25:13

international outlier. Ireland has opted to

25:16

give its government of the last

25:18

five years another half decade in

25:20

power. The people's decision bucks the

25:23

trend of the many elections around

25:25

the world this year. where most

25:27

incumbents have either been voted out

25:30

or sustain significant losses. Ireland also

25:32

stands apart economically because it's not

25:34

running a deficit. Opposition parties had

25:36

argued that although Ireland is a

25:39

rich country, people felt poor because

25:41

of the high cost of housing

25:43

and basic needs. And yet the

25:46

centre-right governing parties, Fina Fall and

25:48

Fina Gail, grew their share of

25:50

the vote. So on the face

25:53

of it, Ireland has chosen stability

25:55

amidst the global volatility. But if

25:57

you dig a little deeper... are

26:00

signs of dissatisfaction and disconnectedness. Futer

26:02

turnout was low by Irish standards.

26:04

And in a constituency right in

26:06

the heart of the nation's capital,

26:09

the most controversial candidate, only just

26:11

missed out on winning a seat.

26:13

Gerard Hutch is probably the most

26:16

prominent gangland leader in Ireland. He's

26:18

in the category of criminal bosses

26:20

whose notoriety has got them a

26:23

nickname. In the press, documentaries, and

26:25

at least one drama film, Hutch

26:27

is known as The Monk, because

26:30

of his supposed clean living lifestyle.

26:32

Last year, he was acquitted of

26:34

murdering a man during a boxing

26:37

way in at a hotel in

26:39

Dublin, but a judge said he

26:41

was the patriarchal figurehead of a

26:43

crime organisation. Hutch stood in the

26:46

constituency of Dublin Central, a place

26:48

where the difference between prosperity and

26:50

poverty is especially stark. The Northern

26:53

Bank of the River Liffey is

26:55

home to the International Financial Services

26:57

Centre, a glassy, glossy block which

27:00

houses bankers, fund managers and investors.

27:02

But a few minutes walk away

27:04

is the North Inner City, one

27:07

of the most deprived areas of

27:09

Ireland. There are serious problems of

27:11

drug dependency, dereliction and homelessness. Gerard

27:13

Hutch is from here, though he's

27:16

moved to a much more affluent

27:18

area. He had only a few

27:20

posters and one truck with a

27:23

billboard, but a local man told

27:25

me Hutch was very popular here

27:27

and he would be the best

27:30

member of parliament they'd ever had.

27:32

he'd get things done for people.

27:34

Another woman said the prospect of

27:37

Hutch being elected was scary. It

27:39

would be terrible for the country.

27:41

Electoral opponents warned the media against

27:43

treating Hutch as a kind of

27:46

celebrity. Some described him as an

27:48

affront to Ireland. But Hutch's social

27:50

media suggested he saw all this

27:53

as fuel for his cause. For

27:55

several hours on the second day.

27:57

the lengthy election count, he seemed

28:00

odds on to take a seat.

28:02

When Hutch arrived, he answered some

28:04

initial questions from reporters about his

28:07

campaign. But when he was asked

28:09

about crime, his friendly demeanor changed

28:11

instantly. He told one journalist he

28:13

was a dying wasp. As words

28:16

spread that he was in the

28:18

building, reporters quickly formed a scrum.

28:20

This was a particularly intense one.

28:23

Security guards formed a circle around

28:25

Hutch, while photographers and TV crews

28:27

jostled for pictures. When Hutch stopped,

28:30

he filmed the dozens of media

28:32

around him on his phone. As

28:34

he prepared to leave, one of

28:37

his teams said that if anyone

28:39

stepped inside the ring of yellow

28:41

jackets surrounding Hutch, he would, I

28:43

quote, do them. A colleague asked

28:46

Hutch if he would run for

28:48

election again. Hutch replied that he

28:50

would, before adding, I've been running

28:53

all my life." He broke into

28:55

a swift jog as he made

28:57

for the exit, with the press

29:00

pack alongside, gradually dropping off as

29:02

he reached the street. Hutch is

29:04

facing an investigation into alleged money

29:07

laundering in Spain, where he was

29:09

released from custody in October. If

29:11

Hutch had won a seat, the

29:13

international headlines would have been less

29:16

about continuity and more about chaos.

29:18

For now, the focus is on

29:20

coalition talks, rather than the presence

29:23

of a crime boss in Parliament.

29:25

But the fact that Hutch was

29:27

firmly in the running for political

29:30

office is being seen by many

29:32

in Ireland as a gauge of

29:34

anti-establishment feeling, a conspicuous counterpoint to

29:37

the country's electoral conservatism. Chris Page,

29:39

and that's all for today. We'll

29:41

be back again next Saturday morning.

29:43

Do join us. The wreath lectures

29:46

2024, hosted by me, Anita Arnand.

29:48

The series is about the complexity

29:50

of human violence. All violence is

29:53

not the and all

29:55

all perpetrators are

29:57

not the same. are

30:00

not the about violence,

30:02

explored by the

30:04

forensic psychiatrist, psychiatrist, Dr.

30:07

Gwen, By listening

30:09

to perpetrators, we

30:11

can learn more about the genesis

30:13

of violence of violence, and perhaps we might

30:15

be able to intervene able to reduce

30:18

the risk of violence happening in

30:20

the future. The Wreath

30:22

Lectures from BBC

30:24

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