*EPF402 02/14/2002
Secretary of State Powell Engages Global Youth Audience via MTV
(Secretary answers questions from young adults in six foreign cities) (1040)

By Charlene Porter
Washington File Staff writer

Washington -- A young Palestinian woman wonders if her people will ever win the right to return to their homeland. A young Egyptian man wants to know what the United States really knows about Osama bin Laden's involvement with the bombing of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. An Afghani asks why the United States wasn't paying attention to the abuses of the Taliban before the September 11 terrorist attacks.

They weren't journalists or diplomats. The young people who asked these questions were members of an international audience assembled by MTV, the youth-oriented cable television music channel. All these questions received answers from no less an authority than U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Powell faced an audience of about 75 people in a Washington television studio, linked by satellites to studios in other cities, each with another group of youth aged 18-25. A total of about 260 young people had the opportunity to question Powell from six remote locations -- Sao Paulo, Cairo, New Delhi, Milan, Moscow and London.

The taped program will premiere in the United States February 14. It will be televised at later dates on other MTV national outlets, and ultimately presented in 164 countries, available to a potential audience of almost 375 million in 18 languages, according to an MTV press release.

MTV initiated the idea for the program, first asking President Bush to appear. But the White House offered Powell, who has a longstanding commitment to young people. "The world's youth are not only our future, but also our greatest hope for solving long-term problems and for building vitally needed understanding between peoples and cultures," Powell said prior to the program taping.

Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Patricia Harris accompanied Powell to the studio for the program. She said his appearance with the young people is much more than a one-hour television show. The young people "are an investment in homeland security," Harris said. "Everybody's homeland security."

Members of the youthful audience were not intimidated or over-awed by their opportunity to speak directly to the top U.S. diplomat, and asked questions as challenging as he receives from the international press corps.

A Norwegian woman in the London studio asked Powell how he feels about the perception that the United States is the Satan of contemporary politics. With a chuckle, Powell responded, "I reject the characterization, quite the contrary." He said the United States is better characterized as "the great protector" for its efforts to preserve freedom and overthrow tyranny in World Wars I and II, in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere.

An Egyptian man challenged the U.S. determination that bin Laden was responsible for the September 11 attacks. Powell responded, "The case built up clearly," from what the United States had learned of the al Qaeda leader's activities through the 1990s. Since September, Powell said bin Laden "has indicted himself on the tapes we've seen," with his expression of foreknowledge and satisfaction about the attacks.

An Afghan youth explained how his family members had been killed under the violent rule of the Taliban, and he fled his country for India. Powell said the abuses of the Taliban and the deteriorating conditions inside Afghanistan "didn't get the level of consciousness" from other governments that they deserved. Now, however, the Secretary of State said the United States is committed to supporting security and reconstruction in Afghanistan, "so that no youngster such as you will tell that story again."

Powell also worked to instill the generation of tomorrow with his hopes for a brighter future.

He told the Palestinian woman who asked about the right of return that the administration envisions a day when an Israeli state and a Palestinian state co-exist as peaceful neighbors. Describing the right of return as the single most difficult issue in attempting to resolve the Mideast conflict, he told the questioner he doesn't know how it can be achieved. On the short term, however, he said the violence must end, peace talks must begin, and the right of return will be addressed.

A Brazilian women in the Sao Paula studio told Powell matter of factly that she is infected with the HIV virus, and asked why the United States can't do more to help distribute drugs to control the virus. Powell said, "We're doing everything we can" to increase the availability of medicine at the same time protecting the rights of the companies who have created the drugs.

"You should be proud of who and what you are," he told the youthful AIDS victim because of her forthrightness in speaking of her disease. Ending the stereotypes about the disease, speaking candidly and breaking taboos are all critical to protecting people from the disease, he said.

The Secretary of State didn't balk when an Italian Roman Catholic woman asked him about the use of condoms as protection against HIV even while Pope John Paul condemns use of the prophylactics. While he expressed his respect for the Vatican, Powell in the next breath also said he supports and encourages their use. "You've got to protect yourself," Powell told the youthful audience.

An American Muslim told Powell that the intense focus on Islam since September 11 has made her rediscover her faith. She asked for Powell's advice on how to deal with the ambiguity that exists among her brother and her friends. They want to be Americans, and are reluctant to practice a faith so frequently vilified.

"Practice your faith," the Secretary of State advised the young women. "Help your brother embrace his faith."

"Be Heard: An MTV Global Discussion with Colin Powell" will be presented according to this scheduled released by MTV.

MTV Brasil -- 15 February -- 2200
MTV Canada -- 19 February -- 1330
MTV European -- 15 February -- 2200 (CET)
MTV India -- 20 February -- TBC
MTV Italia -- 22 February -- 2000 (CET)
MTV Japan -- 9 March -- TBC
MTV Latin America -- 19 February -- 1900
MTV in the Middle East -- 15 February -- 2200 (CET)
MTV Russia -- 15 February -- 1930
MTV UK & Ireland -- 15 February -- 2000 (MT)
MTV US -- 14 February -- 2000 (ET/PT)

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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