This International Dateline episode includes three segments: The Great Mexican Standoff, East Timor - Downfall of a Prime Minister, and Dr. Massoumeh Ebtekar.
The Great Mexican Standoff
In July, 2.1 million protesters gathered in Mexico City's main square to call for a recount of the country's second democratic elections. The former left-wing Mayor of Mexico City, Lopez Obrador, and his supporters have taken over a 12km stretch of one of the city's main roads. Dateline's Sophie McNeill has been camped out in the square to record the frustrations of Obrador and his supporters. Tensions have been running high and this Robin Hood of Mexico has been defeated. In true Mexican style, there's a party in every protest but this does not disguise the popular anger at what Obrador supporters regard as election theft by the powerful elite.
East Timor - Downfall of a Prime Minister
Dateline's John Martinkus a long-term East Timor watcher and David O'Shea, an East Timor bullet dodger travelled to Dili to find out who was behind the violence and the subsequent downfall of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. Now that the dust has settled, David and John speak to insiders about motivations and machinations both domestically and internationally.
Dr. Massoumeh Ebtekar
Dateline interviews Dr. Massoumeh Ebtekar, who was Vice President and Minister for the Environment in Iran from 1997 - 2005. She currently directs an NGO in Tehran: the Center for Peace and the Environment. Dateline's George Negus first met Dr. Ebtekar in Brisbane at the Earth Dialogue Summit last month where she spoke openly about what it's like to be part of the "Axis of Evil." He speaks to her about Iran's nuclear ambitions as well her own political persuasions in relation to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
About International Dateline
SBS Dateline, which began in 1984, is Australia's longest-running international current affairs program. It has a well-earned reputation for authoritative and incisive reporting. Dateline has taken the traditional way of producing TV current affairs and turned it on its head. Reporters who used to travel with a cameraperson and sound recordist now travel alone and have the responsibility of both filming and reporting their stories. The reporters became video-journalists, gaining access to people and places that the conventional camera crews cannot.
