0:00:11 > 0:00:15Payday like today is not a day for sound bites, we will leave those at
0:00:15 > 0:00:16home.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21sound bites, we will leave those at home. . I feel the under history our
0:00:21 > 0:00:24shoulder, I really do, and I just think we need to acknowledge that
0:00:24 > 0:00:29and respond to it. Maybe it is impossible to find a way through,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32maybe with the best faith in the world you cannot do it, but it is to
0:00:32 > 0:00:33try.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36That was two decades ago - the people voted,
0:00:36 > 0:00:37and the Good Friday Agreement was signed,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39cementing the peace in Northern Ireland.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44Now, with Brexit on its way,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47comes the idea that the agreement is flawed.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50There's no question that these Brexit extremists,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52in their hard-line support for a particular dogmatic
0:00:52 > 0:00:53position of Brexit, are actually playing with fire,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56they're in danger in the peace process, and they could incite
0:00:56 > 0:01:04dissident IRA groups.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08A new potential strain on relations between the Unionists and
0:01:08 > 0:01:10nationalists, the UK and Ireland.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13But does it make sense to rewrite an agreement that is not
0:01:13 > 0:01:17delivering self-rule anyway? We hear from the Irish government.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Also tonight, the rebel-held Syrian enclave of Eastern Ghouta
0:01:19 > 0:01:21could become a second Aleppo, says the UN.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Almost 200 people have died in bombings
0:01:23 > 0:01:31by government forces there since Sunday.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34And a male model tells us of the inappropriate
0:01:34 > 0:01:42behaviour he faces at work.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Hello.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Two challenges make this a fraught time in Northern Ireland.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52One, it can't agree on self government, and two, Brexit.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55And so it has been interesting to watch, in the last few days,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58a small number of keen Brexit supporters suggest that the
0:01:58 > 0:02:0320-year-old Good Friday Agreement is past its sell-by date.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Kate Hoey said it's time for a "cold, rational look at it."
0:02:06 > 0:02:08MEP Daniel Hannan wrote a Telegraph piece arguing that British ministers
0:02:08 > 0:02:10should "start working with their Irish counterparts
0:02:10 > 0:02:12on improving the system."
0:02:12 > 0:02:14It's gently phrased,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16and it's not a Brexit point they are making per se,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19but this sentiment has only come from that side.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21There's an interesting linguistic point here, too -
0:02:21 > 0:02:25critics of the agreement tend to call it the Belfast Agreement,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28perhaps because Good Friday makes it sound too holy or reverential.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32But whatever you call it, for many, the agreement is,
0:02:32 > 0:02:32of course, synonymous with peace.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Today, the Irish government called those who questioned it "reckless".
0:02:34 > 0:02:36The British said they stand by it "steadfastly".
0:02:36 > 0:02:44So what is going on?
0:02:46 > 0:02:51Our political editor, Nick Watt, reports.
0:02:51 > 0:03:01Yes, 71.12%.The British people have spoken and the answer is we are out.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05They were seismic votes changing the intertwined history of these
0:03:05 > 0:03:10islands, and the legacy of those referendums, nearly two decades
0:03:10 > 0:03:17apart, are haunting the politics of today.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21today. Remain supporters trim of keeping the UK in the EU, and now
0:03:21 > 0:03:26some Unionist supporters believe the time has come to revisit the Good
0:03:26 > 0:03:31Friday Agreement after last week's failure to restore power-sharing.I
0:03:31 > 0:03:35think the word refresh of the Good Friday Agreement of the Belfast
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Agreement, as I would call it, is actually quite important, because
0:03:39 > 0:03:43time changes lots and lots of things, and of course what we are
0:03:43 > 0:03:47seeing under direct rule, we have that space to look at it. We can't
0:03:47 > 0:03:53have a situation where there are two parties in mandatory coalition and
0:03:53 > 0:03:57one can always pull the plug and say we are walking away, and then they
0:03:57 > 0:04:03don't go back in until they get some new demands.Today, the Government
0:04:03 > 0:04:08made clear it stands foursquare behind the agreement.As the House
0:04:08 > 0:04:11will recognise, this April marks the anniversary of the historic Belfast
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Agreement. That agreement, along with successors, has been
0:04:15 > 0:04:18fundamental in helping Northern Ireland moved forward from its
0:04:18 > 0:04:23violent past 12 bright, more secure future, and this Government's
0:04:23 > 0:04:29support for the agreements remain steadfast, as does the commitment to
0:04:29 > 0:04:34govern for everybody in Northern Ireland.There is fury in senior
0:04:34 > 0:04:40parts of government after senior Tories lent their wits to a rethink
0:04:40 > 0:04:43on the agreement, one said it would be the height of absurdity to make
0:04:43 > 0:04:47unilateral changes to the 1998 agreement. From the Prime Minister
0:04:47 > 0:04:52downwards, there is a determination to establish all of its institutions
0:04:52 > 0:04:57by brokering a deal between the DUP and Sinn Fein. But one of the
0:04:57 > 0:05:00original signatories to the Good Friday Agreement says that
0:05:00 > 0:05:04government must act by introducing a short Parliamentary bill to hand the
0:05:04 > 0:05:07powers vested in the Northern Ireland power-sharing executive to
0:05:07 > 0:05:15its assembly.Instead of just going on with London's intervening from
0:05:15 > 0:05:19time to time to do things, but not having proper decisions made by
0:05:19 > 0:05:22people who have their roots in Northern Ireland and are accountable
0:05:22 > 0:05:28to the electorate, the only way we can proceed is by having a situation
0:05:28 > 0:05:33where the assembly can function without an executive will stop and I
0:05:33 > 0:05:37think that is possible, and it would be a wake of avoiding the present
0:05:37 > 0:05:42impasse.A former Northern Ireland Secretary who presided over changes
0:05:42 > 0:05:45to the Good Friday Agreement a decade ago act acknowledges that
0:05:45 > 0:05:51there is a precedent for amending the accord. But he warns that today
0:05:51 > 0:05:56is's calls for change, mainly from Brexit supporters, could have grave
0:05:56 > 0:06:00consequences.There is no question that these Brextremists, in their
0:06:00 > 0:06:05hard-line support for a particular dogmatic position on Brexit, are
0:06:05 > 0:06:11actually playing with fire, endangering the peace process, and
0:06:11 > 0:06:15they could incite dissident IRA groups who are very well armed and
0:06:15 > 0:06:19have made attacks and killed people in recent years, although they are
0:06:19 > 0:06:23very isolated and marginalised at the moment, it could incite greater
0:06:23 > 0:06:25support for them and a greater threat from them.I don't think
0:06:25 > 0:06:31there's any threat, any long-term threat to what we agreed 20 years
0:06:31 > 0:06:37ago. And I don't think there's any chance of there being a breakdown
0:06:37 > 0:06:42and a return to violence.Sinn Fein agrees that dissident republicans
0:06:42 > 0:06:47pose no threat to the peace process, but the party warns of the dangers
0:06:47 > 0:06:50of challenging the Good Friday Agreement.These interventions
0:06:50 > 0:06:55represents nothing more than a wrecker's charter, and in fact the
0:06:55 > 0:06:59very wrong-headed and irresponsible nature of the interventions at this
0:06:59 > 0:07:05particular point in time, in fact, exaggerate the extent of the
0:07:05 > 0:07:09political crisis that we are living through. The Good Friday Agreement
0:07:09 > 0:07:14has been under relentless push back from sections of political unionism
0:07:14 > 0:07:19from when it was first signed. Referendums are meant to settle
0:07:19 > 0:07:24political disputes for a generation, from the Good Friday Agreement to
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Brexit, we are learning that to some they are not the final word.
0:07:28 > 0:07:29Nick Watt reporting.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32I am now joined from Dublin by the Minister for European Affairs
0:07:32 > 0:07:38in the Irish government, Helen McEntee.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Good evening to you, thanks for joining us, what is your reaction to
0:07:42 > 0:07:47this debate that has cropped up in this country over the last few days?
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Well, what I would welcome, firstly, is comments by Karen Bradley and
0:07:51 > 0:07:54other members of the British Government, who have very clearly
0:07:54 > 0:07:57said that the Good Friday Agreement is the only way to move forward and
0:07:57 > 0:08:03is essentially the only show in town. The Good Friday Agreement is
0:08:03 > 0:08:06an international peace Treaty and has been for the last 20 years the
0:08:06 > 0:08:10only way that every political voice, every political view and expression
0:08:10 > 0:08:15has been heard and can be heard, and I think for any suggestions that
0:08:15 > 0:08:19have been made that it is past its sell by date, that it is no longer
0:08:19 > 0:08:24of use, I would ask those people too maybe reflect on what things were
0:08:24 > 0:08:28like 20 years ago, before the agreement was in place. So I welcome
0:08:28 > 0:08:31confirmation from the British Government that it is the only way
0:08:31 > 0:08:36forward, and the Irish government are saying the same.Let's break
0:08:36 > 0:08:41this down, what would happen if the British Government did unilaterally
0:08:41 > 0:08:45change aspects of the Good Friday Agreement in an attempt to make it
0:08:45 > 0:08:52work better, for example? What actually happens if it does do that?
0:08:52 > 0:08:56Well, I mean, the Good Friday Agreement is an international peace
0:08:56 > 0:08:59treaty, a young treaty, and you would be essentially changing the
0:08:59 > 0:09:04way in which citizens north and South, East and West work with each
0:09:04 > 0:09:07other, engage with each other, and what we have seen over the past 20
0:09:07 > 0:09:11years is that we have been able to work together, parties in the north
0:09:11 > 0:09:15have been able to work in a power-sharing executive. Yes, we
0:09:15 > 0:09:19have hit a bump in the road, but that has not been we need to
0:09:19 > 0:09:24completely change path, it just means we need to work together, and
0:09:24 > 0:09:32that is our focus, the Irish,'s focus -- the Irish's government
0:09:32 > 0:09:36focus to work with everyone to make sure that those elements of the
0:09:36 > 0:09:41agreement can be upheld.Obviously, we can't go on forever pretending
0:09:41 > 0:09:45that the agreement is working if it is not delivering an assembly or an
0:09:45 > 0:09:51executive in Northern Ireland that is operating. How long would you
0:09:51 > 0:09:55give it before everybody has to sit down and think again? It has been,
0:09:55 > 0:10:02what, 30 months now, do you go on and on saying, let's try?Well, I
0:10:02 > 0:10:06mean, I think it is disappointing that we are over one year on and
0:10:06 > 0:10:12that we don't have an executive, and last week's events were obviously of
0:10:12 > 0:10:18concern, but there are a number of mechanisms through which we can work
0:10:18 > 0:10:23on what is happening, the executive being the most important one, but we
0:10:23 > 0:10:26also have areas of cooperation, the North-South Ministerial Council and
0:10:26 > 0:10:30the British Irish Council, and we need to make sure, in the absence of
0:10:30 > 0:10:33a functioning executive, that they are given the power and ability to
0:10:33 > 0:10:38uphold the elements of the agreement.You have said something
0:10:38 > 0:10:43very important, sorry to interrupt, something very important - is that
0:10:43 > 0:10:46your backstop, substitute for the working of the executive and the
0:10:46 > 0:10:52assembly? Your substitute is joint sovereignty of the Republic and the
0:10:52 > 0:10:56UK over Northern Ireland? Is that what you want to see if the parties
0:10:56 > 0:11:01in the North don't get together? Well, what we want to see is an
0:11:01 > 0:11:04executive functioning Emma North, and what we will do is work with the
0:11:04 > 0:11:12British governor...I understand that, but what is your Plan B?To
0:11:12 > 0:11:15make sure those mechanisms are in place, the North-South Ministerial
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Council and the British Irish Council are already there, already
0:11:19 > 0:11:24functioning, and in the absence of an executive, we need to make sure
0:11:24 > 0:11:30that we are working to the best of our ability...I understand your
0:11:30 > 0:11:34focus, I understand that getting it to work, yeah, yeah. But what about
0:11:34 > 0:11:39plans to reform our Northern Ireland works? You could say that he would
0:11:39 > 0:11:42move to the Welsh model, the assembly chooses the executive, you
0:11:42 > 0:11:47don't enshrine in an international peace treaty, you know, a coalition
0:11:47 > 0:11:51that will permanently operate between the two sites, you say, we
0:11:51 > 0:11:54will let the assembly picket. If they can't get it together, would
0:11:54 > 0:12:00you be open to the idea of joint talks, not unilateral, where that
0:12:00 > 0:12:04was the kind of thing on the table? The Good Friday Agreement as, I
0:12:04 > 0:12:09think, the full support of the Northern Ireland citizens, and also
0:12:09 > 0:12:13citizens in the Republic as well, and we heard the statistics at the
0:12:13 > 0:12:17beginning of the show, over 71% of people overwhelmingly voted in
0:12:17 > 0:12:23favour of this process, this mechanism, joint power and
0:12:23 > 0:12:27cooperation, and in the south those figures bring it up to 94%. So the
0:12:27 > 0:12:31idea of trying to amend something that has worked very successfully,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35as I said, yes, we have hit a bump in the road, yes, there are
0:12:35 > 0:12:39challenges not just in Northern Ireland, but obviously with Brexit,
0:12:39 > 0:12:44and we are dealing with those, but I think the Good Friday Agreement is
0:12:44 > 0:12:51something that we need to work with...Helen McEntee, that point
0:12:51 > 0:12:55you have made very clearly, thanks so much for joining us.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Now, Nick Watt joins me with news of further ructions in the Tory
0:12:58 > 0:13:03ranks this evening over Brexit.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08What has been happening?I was talking to a Remain member of the
0:13:08 > 0:13:12Cabinet this afternoon, who was very cheerful after the speech by David
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Davis, when he said the UK would not have a race to the bottom with the
0:13:15 > 0:13:21EU, but then this letter from 62 members of the Eurosceptic group was
0:13:21 > 0:13:25leaked to Sam Coates of the Times, and this makes clear that they take
0:13:25 > 0:13:30a much more restrictive view of what the Clemente is, the transition
0:13:30 > 0:13:36period would look like.Away harder line than David Davis was saying?
0:13:36 > 0:13:40They are essentially saying to the Prime Minister, be very careful,
0:13:40 > 0:13:44don't go too far in what you concede. I have been talking to
0:13:44 > 0:13:47sources in that European research group, and they are saying there are
0:13:47 > 0:13:52hundreds of us, that is the message to Number Ten, so you better watch
0:13:52 > 0:13:56out. But interestingly, they say their real target is not Theresa
0:13:56 > 0:14:02May, it is the Cabinet Secretary, and the UK's chief negotiator. They
0:14:02 > 0:14:08are concerned that they are going to lay down what they regard as tricks,
0:14:08 > 0:14:13so that in 13 months' time, when we are out of the EU, our hands can be
0:14:13 > 0:14:18restricted.Briefly, what about Labour? Has the language changed,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22inching towards a clear position about being in out of the customs
0:14:22 > 0:14:26union?Jeremy Corbyn said that the UK would have to be in a customs
0:14:26 > 0:14:30union with the EU, that would be important to sort out the Northern
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Ireland border, so not the customs union. Labour says they can't be in
0:14:34 > 0:14:40that because you have to
0:14:41 > 0:14:42that because you have to respect the result of the referendum, but the
0:14:42 > 0:14:45reason they say a customs union and not in the single market is that you
0:14:45 > 0:14:48don't have the regulatory requirements of the European Court
0:14:48 > 0:14:50of Justice.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Every day, more names are brought forward in the campaign
0:14:52 > 0:14:54against inappropriate behaviour, of all kinds, at work.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57The charity sector is feeling the heat at the moment,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59and today the PM programme on Radio 4 revealed allegations
0:14:59 > 0:15:01of inappropriate behaviour against the former CEO
0:15:01 > 0:15:04of Save the Children UK, Justin Forsyth.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Now although you may not have heard of him,
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Mr Forsyth is a important player in international aid
0:15:09 > 0:15:11charities.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14He was a close associate of Brendan Cox -
0:15:14 > 0:15:17both of them were at Save the Children, and both also worked
0:15:17 > 0:15:19for Gordon Brown at Number 10.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22When Mr Brown was caught on mic referring to Gillian Duffy
0:15:22 > 0:15:27as a bigoted woman, he was talking to Justin Forsyth.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30The new accusation is that while running Save the Children
0:15:30 > 0:15:32before 2015, there were three separate complaints of inappropriate
0:15:32 > 0:15:37behaviour towards female members of staff by him,
0:15:37 > 0:15:39sending a series of inappropriate texts,
0:15:39 > 0:15:44commenting on how they looked, and prompting them to respond.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Mr Forsyth left and has since gone on to one of the most
0:15:47 > 0:15:51senior posts at Unicef, the UN children's fund.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53He admits to having made some personal mistakes during his time
0:15:53 > 0:15:57at Save the Children, specifically admitting
0:15:57 > 0:15:59to what he described as "unsuitable and thoughtless" conversations
0:15:59 > 0:16:03with colleagues, which he subsequently apologised for.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05He added that there were no formal complaints,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08and that they were dealt with through mediation.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Save the Children told us that they were commissioning
0:16:10 > 0:16:13a root-and-branch review of its organisational culture,
0:16:13 > 0:16:21and that they apologised for any pain these matters had caused.
0:16:22 > 0:16:29To reflect on all of this I have the Labour MP Peter Carlin, a man who
0:16:29 > 0:16:34himself has worked in international aid crisis charities. Do you think
0:16:34 > 0:16:40that Justin Forsyth should be working for Unicef in a senior role?
0:16:40 > 0:16:43There are questions about that right now. The important thing is that
0:16:43 > 0:16:48Unicef is in touch with Save the Children, Unicef said there doing
0:16:48 > 0:16:52that. I do not know the details of this but it is clear that that needs
0:16:52 > 0:16:57to be looked at in light of these revelations.Unicef have said they
0:16:57 > 0:17:01are aware of the media reports and welcome the decision of us to
0:17:01 > 0:17:05Forsyth to come forward and acknowledge past mistakes and that
0:17:05 > 0:17:09they are discussing this with him and with Unicef and Save the
0:17:09 > 0:17:14Children. Not physical accusations in this case, but the sheer volume
0:17:14 > 0:17:18of things coming out about the charity sector must be damaging it.
0:17:18 > 0:17:26Of course and we know it is. But some of these accusations are
0:17:26 > 0:17:29grotesque and from very senior managers, that is the thing that is
0:17:29 > 0:17:33most shocking. It is clear that in some of these organisations there is
0:17:33 > 0:17:37the sense that protection of a moral organisation is more important that
0:17:37 > 0:17:42individuals working in it. You've seen the same thing in the church,
0:17:42 > 0:17:47and the BBC. Some people feel organisations are so morally
0:17:47 > 0:17:52important and significant that covering up things within the
0:17:52 > 0:17:56organisation is worthwhile and a means to an end. We've seen that in
0:17:56 > 0:18:00the charity sector recently and it needs to be busted.Just culturally
0:18:00 > 0:18:07I wonder whether part of the interest in this, it is
0:18:07 > 0:18:15organisations that seem to be on the high moral ground being brought down
0:18:15 > 0:18:17by personal foibles and inappropriate behaviour of the
0:18:17 > 0:18:23people within them. I wonder if that is feeding some of the interest.No
0:18:23 > 0:18:28doubt. It is quite right to hold people in the charitable sector to a
0:18:28 > 0:18:32higher standard than perhaps others. We do have high expectations of
0:18:32 > 0:18:36people doing this moral work. British aid works, the people
0:18:36 > 0:18:41working in the front line, the vast majority are extraordinary people
0:18:41 > 0:18:47who put themselves into harm. We had four aid workers killed last week.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51So people are doing some extraordinary work. But I have been
0:18:51 > 0:18:55a front line aid worker as well and I've seen the work that does not
0:18:55 > 0:19:02meet the moral standards we would expect from organisations. Sexually?
0:19:02 > 0:19:06In almost ten years doing this work I never saw anything that was
0:19:06 > 0:19:09criminal or even a whisper of some of the things that are being
0:19:09 > 0:19:14revealed now. But I did see work that was overly territorial,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18culturally inappropriate for the kind of work they were doing and
0:19:18 > 0:19:22some of that morally indefensible. One example I could give you if we
0:19:22 > 0:19:32have time. I was doing some work, asking for assistance from a British
0:19:32 > 0:19:37Nato general. He told me he had put up the order to stop working as
0:19:37 > 0:19:41well-known, large international charity based in the UK because he
0:19:41 > 0:19:45had offered work and had refused and the reason given was they had a lot
0:19:45 > 0:19:49of money given to that organisation from British donors and by law that
0:19:49 > 0:19:53money must be spent within that country. And that charity did not
0:19:53 > 0:19:56want to be in that country for a long time so they literally were
0:19:56 > 0:19:59squandering money. I have been saying this stuff for a long time
0:19:59 > 0:20:04and now I have the platform as an MP, people are listening more.This
0:20:04 > 0:20:13goes well beyond the sexual harassment and exploitation customer
0:20:13 > 0:20:17the aid industry has become very competitive and that tipped over to
0:20:17 > 0:20:21becoming territorial and further to being secret.So when bad things
0:20:21 > 0:20:26happen, whether work that does not go right, whether a member of staff
0:20:26 > 0:20:31not performing right or some of the really dangerous stuff we have heard
0:20:31 > 0:20:35recently, then the instinct is to hide it. So there is a link between
0:20:35 > 0:20:39these different things. Culturally we need to look at the aid industry,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43do the investigations and the enquiries as the Charity Commission
0:20:43 > 0:20:49is doing now and also have a root and branch think about how we use
0:20:49 > 0:20:53these big aid agencies. The behaviour that we incentivise from
0:20:53 > 0:20:57aid agencies. And get off a lot better at getting the right people
0:20:57 > 0:21:01into the right jobs on a front line. And if they drop perform we have to
0:21:01 > 0:21:06get them of there. -- if they do not perform.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09A lot is happening in Syria right now - a war that is,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11if it was possible, ever more brutal and
0:21:11 > 0:21:12ever more complicated.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15There has been a tragic intensification of the bombardment
0:21:15 > 0:21:16of Eastern Ghouta, outside Damascus.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Huge numbers of deaths in the last couple of days.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21More on that in a few minutes, but let's hear more
0:21:21 > 0:21:22about the other development first.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Because today, in a sign of the messiness of the coalitions
0:21:25 > 0:21:27fighting with or against each other, the Syrian government found
0:21:27 > 0:21:29itself fighting the Turks, in order to defend Kurdish forces
0:21:29 > 0:21:32who have been fighting the Syrian government.
0:21:32 > 0:21:38Our diplomatic editor, Mark Urban, is with me now.
0:21:38 > 0:21:46To me this just seems very peculiar. What has been happening? Well since
0:21:46 > 0:21:50Islamic State so-called was defeated in the east of Syria, additional
0:21:50 > 0:21:56forces have been available and are focused on three places. Idlib in
0:21:56 > 0:22:03the north, Ghouta and another area where the incident was going on
0:22:03 > 0:22:10today, between Syria and Turkish forces, in Afrin. The town is that a
0:22:10 > 0:22:18key point on the Turkish border. Kurdish forces are there. They said
0:22:18 > 0:22:22they are the PKK, the same people who have been mounting attacks in
0:22:22 > 0:22:28Turkey over many years and they have gone in there to sort them out. The
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Kurds in Afrin have always had an ambiguous relationship with the
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Damascus government certainly in recent years. In times they appeared
0:22:35 > 0:22:40to be in opposition to them but in general they seem to have some de
0:22:40 > 0:22:44facto agreements. Now the Damascus government is siding with them and
0:22:44 > 0:22:52trying to protect them from this Turkish attack.Does it look better
0:22:52 > 0:22:57for some kind of peace that these former enemies and can now sit down
0:22:57 > 0:23:03and talk?No, is the short answer because they always had this de
0:23:03 > 0:23:07facto corporative relationship. This particular area of the Kurdish
0:23:07 > 0:23:12resistance. And you have the Americans bordering on the area, the
0:23:12 > 0:23:16Iranians and Russians also involved. It is a dangerous situation in the
0:23:16 > 0:23:22north of Syria.Well going back to the issue of Easter in Ghouta. And
0:23:22 > 0:23:28we have been looking at how it is receiving such treatment.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31Since Sunday, there's been a sharp increase in Syrian
0:23:31 > 0:23:34military attacks on Ghouta - dozens of airstrikes a day have been
0:23:34 > 0:23:37hitting the besieged enclave, and the death toll is now
0:23:37 > 0:23:41approaching 200 in those three days.
0:23:41 > 0:23:48For the quarter of a million or so people who live there, it's
0:23:48 > 0:23:51been one of the worst times in more than six years of conflict.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54We are witnessing some of the worst fighting of the entire conflict
0:23:54 > 0:23:56and the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure.
0:23:56 > 0:23:57Including medical facilities.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02WHO has received reports of attacks on five hospitals in eastern Ghouta
0:24:02 > 0:24:06and is working to verify these reports and the casualties.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09We continue to call for unimpeded access to eastern Ghouta to provide
0:24:09 > 0:24:12medical supplies that will mean the difference between life
0:24:12 > 0:24:16and death for the very sick and injured and for the immediate
0:24:16 > 0:24:19evacuation of urgent medical cases.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24From the outset, geography defined the conflict in Ghouta.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28Its location on the eastern outskirts of Damascus made it easy
0:24:28 > 0:24:32for rebel groups to move to and from Sunni-dominated areas
0:24:32 > 0:24:34to the east and north.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37And government positions on Mount Qasioun, which is heavily
0:24:37 > 0:24:41fortified, in the al Assad suburb, as the name suggests a regime
0:24:41 > 0:24:46stronghold, and in Adra, site of another big army base,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49all helped to hem in the Ghouta pocket and were used as launching
0:24:49 > 0:24:53spots for attacks on it.
0:24:53 > 0:24:59But those holding out inside have refused to capitulate.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Just a few miles from central Damascus, Ghouta was the target
0:25:01 > 0:25:06of a chemical weapons attack in 2013 - the aim then, according
0:25:06 > 0:25:12to the Pentagon, was to follow up with infantry and storm the enclave.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14That attack failed.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Tonight there are also reports of Syrian troops moving
0:25:16 > 0:25:24to assault positions.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39Within the enclave are several thousand fighters
0:25:39 > 0:25:42from different groups.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Jaish al Islam - a militant Islamist group -
0:25:44 > 0:25:47holds eastern and northern areas.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Ahrar al Sham, at one stage Qatari backed and linked
0:25:50 > 0:25:53to the Muslim Brotherhood, a pocket in the west.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57And Faylaq al Rahman is in the south - they're affiliated to the Turkish
0:25:57 > 0:25:59backed Free Syrian Army.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03At times these factions have clashed, but equally,
0:26:03 > 0:26:11none has been tempted by the Assad government's offers to switch sides.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Now, earlier today we spoke to Seraj Mahmoud, a volunteer
0:26:16 > 0:26:18with the Syrian Civil Defence team otherwise known
0:26:18 > 0:26:20as the White Helmets.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22For the last 48 hours, Seraj and his fellow
0:26:22 > 0:26:24volunteers have been recovering the dead and the injured
0:26:24 > 0:26:27sifting through the rubble.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Earlier today, Seraj told us he lost one of his colleagues
0:26:30 > 0:26:33in the bombardment and in the last 40 days his division
0:26:33 > 0:26:35lost four volunteers.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37He spoke to us from Douma city in Eastern Ghouta,
0:26:37 > 0:26:45where he was seeking shelter from the ongoing bombardment.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Joining me now is Geert Cappelaere, Unicefs's regional director
0:28:40 > 0:28:46for the Middle East and North Africa.
0:28:46 > 0:28:52Thank you for coming in. How does Easter in Ghouta compared to some of
0:28:52 > 0:28:56the other names that have become grimly famous in this Syrian war
0:28:56 > 0:29:03such as Aleppo?The situation is comparable with what we've seen over
0:29:03 > 0:29:07the past seven years. Very comparable from the point of view of
0:29:07 > 0:29:12the children. Today once again dozens of children have been killed
0:29:12 > 0:29:19in eastern Ghouta, several children have been killed in Damascus.
0:29:19 > 0:29:26Children simply continue paying the highest price of a brutal war that
0:29:26 > 0:29:35is not of their making.UN envoy Stephane said it has the risk of
0:29:35 > 0:29:39becoming a second Aleppo and he hopes we have learnt lessons from
0:29:39 > 0:29:45that. What lessons have we learnt from Aleppo that we did not already
0:29:45 > 0:29:49know? It seems the world is powerless to do anything.One
0:29:49 > 0:29:57important lesson learned from eastern Aleppo, is that no single
0:29:57 > 0:30:03party has at any moment put the protection of children at the core
0:30:03 > 0:30:10of their action. If we want to prevent bloodshed, further bloodshed
0:30:10 > 0:30:17of children, if we want to prevent thousands of children being maimed
0:30:17 > 0:30:22then we need to learn the lessons and this time around for the
0:30:22 > 0:30:30protection of children of the core of everyone's attention and action.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35Does that basically mean the people there surrendering, yielding to the
0:30:35 > 0:30:38Syrian government? Because often it looks like they are going to, in the
0:30:38 > 0:30:45end, lose and there will be a lot of suffering in the meantime.There is
0:30:45 > 0:30:50an incredible suffering from children's perspective. Again, we
0:30:50 > 0:30:56have seen, within Eastern Ghouta, over the last few months only, the
0:30:56 > 0:31:03number of children suffering from severe, acute malnutrition,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07life-threatening malnutrition, the numbers have been increased by ten
0:31:07 > 0:31:13in a few months' time, probably one of the best indicators to show, to
0:31:13 > 0:31:17tell the world how dire the situation of children is today. And
0:31:17 > 0:31:24with a very limited means for the international community, for the
0:31:24 > 0:31:28national partners to provide the assistance, the much-needed,
0:31:28 > 0:31:33urgently needed assistance to the children inside.But is there an
0:31:33 > 0:31:36option for them to surrender, and deep down is that what you would
0:31:36 > 0:31:41like them to do, just to stop the continual suffering of these young
0:31:41 > 0:31:47people? Because they are probably not... What is the point in hanging
0:31:47 > 0:31:52on in there if the Syrian government will prevail anyway?From the
0:31:52 > 0:31:58children's perspective, this war needs to stop. Children have
0:31:58 > 0:32:06suffered way too much already, and this is a call for all parties who
0:32:06 > 0:32:12are responsible for that endless children's suffering. Thousands of
0:32:12 > 0:32:21children being killed, hundreds of thousands being maimed, close to 3
0:32:21 > 0:32:25million children, Syrian children, not able to attend regularly school.
0:32:25 > 0:32:33The levels of malnutrition, the children preventing from being
0:32:33 > 0:32:39children - this needs to stop, all parties need to take their
0:32:39 > 0:32:42responsibility. Anyone with authority over the fighting parties
0:32:42 > 0:32:51need to take their responsibility, this cannot be accepted any longer.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55Geert Cappelaere from Unicef, thanks very much indeed, thanks.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58Last night, we heard the eloquent testimony of a Chippendale
0:32:58 > 0:33:00male entertainer on the groping and grabbing that he puts up with
0:33:00 > 0:33:02from his mainly female audiences.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04He enjoys his job and was relaxed about most of it,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07knowing exactly what to expect - it's all part of the show.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09But among men who are not Chippendales,
0:33:09 > 0:33:12but who do sell their looks, there is often a simmering annoyance
0:33:12 > 0:33:14with the unprofessional sexualised conduct that they face.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18Male models know it's all about looking right for the part
0:33:18 > 0:33:21but do not expect to get work on the basis of their willingness
0:33:21 > 0:33:24to satisfy casting agents' lust.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26We've spoken to quite a number of male models
0:33:26 > 0:33:28and have collated some of the experiences
0:33:28 > 0:33:36they've told us about.
0:35:32 > 0:35:33Some testimony from male models there.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Some testimony from male models there.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37Reece Sanders has worked internationally as a model.
0:35:37 > 0:35:38He joins me now.
0:35:38 > 0:35:44Good evening to you. Does everybody have things like this, or is it a
0:35:44 > 0:35:49minority experience?I think people have been made to feel uncomfortable
0:35:49 > 0:35:53more than you'd think in certain situations, but these tales are a
0:35:53 > 0:35:57minority amongst especially male models, which I can only speak on
0:35:57 > 0:36:01behalf of.What is the worst that has happened to you? What sort of
0:36:01 > 0:36:08things?Lines crossed in the sense of a stylist or someone, when
0:36:08 > 0:36:15dressing you, has gone a bit too far, attacking a shirt in, a bit too
0:36:15 > 0:36:19handsy, it is noticeable but they play it like it is nothing.There is
0:36:19 > 0:36:27this phrase, the front tag, what is that?That is when a stylist, it
0:36:27 > 0:36:35doesn't have to be a stylist, anyone who is dressing you at the time, is
0:36:38 > 0:36:41tucking the shedding, they take advantage of that.What about
0:36:41 > 0:36:48photographs of you, you are getting changed, photographers are around,
0:36:48 > 0:36:53the making of the campaign, there are back up photographers? Is a lot
0:36:53 > 0:36:58of that inappropriate?I find the worst thing is, during Fashion Week,
0:36:58 > 0:37:04or when you are doing a show, for example, if you are backstage, there
0:37:04 > 0:37:08are a lot of photographers coming and going, and they are all licensed
0:37:08 > 0:37:12to be there, and you know, someone wants to take a photograph of you in
0:37:12 > 0:37:16your underwear and you are aware of it, you are selling your image, and
0:37:16 > 0:37:20if your image is your body, you might be fine with that. But if they
0:37:20 > 0:37:25are doing it without you knowing, even if you are OK with it, are you
0:37:25 > 0:37:31OK with having it done without your knowledge? What kind of photo is it?
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Where is it going?What was interesting, model two in that be
0:37:34 > 0:37:39said there is a relationship with the photographer, and it can be
0:37:39 > 0:37:44quite a sexualised relationship, is that actually part of the sort of
0:37:44 > 0:37:49making the thing work, that there is flirtation or something going on
0:37:49 > 0:37:54with the photographer? Or can it be fairly anonymous and professional?
0:37:54 > 0:37:58We have heard stories from people, and with so many eyes being on
0:37:58 > 0:38:01fashion, at the end of the day, there are thousands of models
0:38:01 > 0:38:05working with thousands of photographers all over the industry,
0:38:05 > 0:38:09and people need to understand that the industry is not one company. It
0:38:09 > 0:38:13is thousands of companies making it up. If somebody leaves a shoot at
0:38:13 > 0:38:17the end of the day and tweet or Instagram, anything on social media
0:38:17 > 0:38:23about how well the
0:38:24 > 0:38:26about how well the day has worked with hundreds of photographers, and
0:38:26 > 0:38:28I have stayed at their houses, their families have made me breakfast in
0:38:28 > 0:38:31the morning, we have had friendly relationships. No lines have been
0:38:31 > 0:38:35crossed, everything has been fine. But when it does get crossed, so
0:38:35 > 0:38:39many eyes are on the fashion industry that these are the stories
0:38:39 > 0:38:43that come to the surface, some rises to the top, so we see the stories
0:38:43 > 0:38:52about people.But I am guessing that you and the other people on the
0:38:52 > 0:38:56fashion circuit, you all know who are the ones who are creepy and who
0:38:56 > 0:39:02are not. You are swapping stories the whole time?You do spend a lot
0:39:02 > 0:39:06of time and castings, you can spend hours waiting to see a client, and
0:39:06 > 0:39:13you swap stories with other models, someone who has been doing it for
0:39:13 > 0:39:18months or years, and we do hear about certain names of people and
0:39:18 > 0:39:21things come to light in the mainstream media as well, people
0:39:21 > 0:39:25that are doing this. So these are people we try to avoid any way, and
0:39:25 > 0:39:30when you fear about these, from my personal experience, your agency
0:39:30 > 0:39:33will do anything to not put you with these.They will try and protect
0:39:33 > 0:39:41you.You can go into your agencies. That is nice.For myself, I have
0:39:41 > 0:39:47found that.What is striking, you were saying before, you are 25, now
0:39:47 > 0:39:53getting to be considered quite late career.Correct, yeah.What are the
0:39:53 > 0:39:58age of your average model?It depends, for Fashion Week, they like
0:39:58 > 0:40:05a younger looking guy, so 16-19. Teenagers, who are really not going
0:40:05 > 0:40:09to be very experienced and how to handle all these situations.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12Exactly, so when I have been in these positions where the front tuck
0:40:12 > 0:40:17has gone too far, and I have not said anything because maybe I have
0:40:17 > 0:40:20not thought about it that way, but I should have said something at the
0:40:20 > 0:40:25time. There is a lot of young kids coming through, and I feel that we
0:40:25 > 0:40:29need to make and safe. I'm not saying it is extremely seedy, this
0:40:29 > 0:40:33is a minority of people, but if we can eradicate them and make it safer
0:40:33 > 0:40:37for the next generation of models, that we be the dream, really.Thanks
0:40:37 > 0:40:41very much.
0:40:41 > 0:40:47That is all we have time for tonight. A very good night.