Australia says sorry to Stolen Generations

Australia apologized on Wednesday for the historic mistreatment of Aborigines, heralding a new era in race relations and moving indigenous people to tears as huge crowds cheered across the nation.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd led the parliamentary apology to members of the Stolen Generations of aborigines, who were forcibly taken from their families and communities when they were young children under old assimilation policies.

In unprecedented scenes for Australia's parliament, a huge crowd of more than 7,000 people gathered on the lawns outside to watch as the apology was broadcast live to giant screens, with Aborigines and supporters cheering as Rudd said "sorry."

"It makes the indigenous community feel, for the first time in a real long time, really feel part of Australia, that it's embraced by the whole Australian nation," Stolen Generation elder Mark Bin Bakar told Reuters.

"It's about us coming together as a country, acknowledging our past and moving on, accepting each other as brothers and sisters of this nation," he said.

Others paused at city squares, town halls and schools around the country to watch the speech, which is expected to open a new era of reconciliation between indigenous and white Australians.

In Sydney's inner-city suburb of Redfern, home to a large aboriginal community, hundreds stood in heavy rain and cheered each of the three times Rudd said "sorry."

"Sorry heals the heart, and it goes deep," said Redfern aboriginal activist Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor.

The parliamentary apology comes 11 years after a report into past assimilation policies found between one in three and one in 10 aboriginal children had been taken from their families between 1910 and 1970.

The report urged a national apology to those affected, known as the Stolen Generations, but the then conservative government under prime minister John Howard rejected the finding and offered only a statement of regret.

"Today, the parliament has come together to right a great wrong," Rudd said.

"We apologize for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians."

SORRY

Rudd made the apology the first item of parliamentary business for centre-left Labor, which won power in November last year, ending almost 12 years of conservative rule.

He said "sorry" three times to the Stolen Generations and their families, saying the old policies were a stain on Australia's soul which would never be repeated.

About 100 members of the Stolen Generations were in parliament to hear the government apologize, some wiping away tears as Rudd spoke.

Howard, who lost his parliamentary seat last November, did not attend the celebrations, but the other four living former prime ministers did attend, including conservative Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, who governed from 1975 to 1983.

"I just wish the idea of an apology had been put before me," Fraser told Sky television.

Australia has about 460,000 indigenous Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, who make up about 2 percent of the 21 million population. There are no aboriginal members in the national parliament.

Aborigines are the most disadvantaged group in Australia, with a life expectancy 17 years less than other Australians, and far higher rates of infant mortality, unemployment, imprisonment, alcohol and drug abuse and domestic violence.

Rudd promised to end the gap in life expectancy within a generation, and to work to end aboriginal inequality. He announced a plan on Wednesday to ensure all young aboriginal children are enrolled in pre-school.

Rudd also announced new plans to improve indigenous housing, and give aborigines constitutional recognition as the original owners of Australia.

Probe into missing UK girl near end

The investigation into the disappearance of a British girl from a southern Portuguese resort last year is nearly over, Portugal's justice minister said Wednesday.
Madeleine McCann vanished May 3 last year — a few days before her 4th birthday — from a hotel room during a family vacation in Praia da Luz in Portugal's southern Algarve region.

Last month, Portugal's attorney general granted detectives an extra three months to investigate because of what they said was the complexity of the highly publicized case.

"We are at a stage now where we are approaching the conclusion of the process," Justice Minister Alberto Costa told lawmakers, but said he could provide no details about the investigation.

Costa said it was "premature" to say whether the investigation would find out what happened to the girl. He cited what he said were British statistics showing that around 80 percent of similar cases in Britain remained unresolved.

No one has been charged with her disappearance.

The first formal suspect was Robert Murat, a British man who lives near the hotel in the Algarve. He has denied involvement.

Weeks later, Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, also were named suspects. They say they were not involved in their daughter's disappearance. They returned to Britain in September.

Lawmakers questioned Costa about comments by Portugal's most senior detective, Alipio Ribeiro, who said in a recent radio interview that investigators had shown "a certain haste" in naming the girl's parents as suspects.

Costa said there was no indication Ribeiro broke secrecy laws that prohibit public discussion of ongoing investigations.

"If there was any such sign ... I am sure an inquiry would have been opened, and it hasn't been," Costa said.

But Costa said the numerous leaks in the case, apparently from Portuguese officials, were "worrying."

"It would be good if people could show self-restraint," he said.

Congress Fries Clemens, Pettitte, McNamee accusations Denied by Him

Roger Clemens struggled to find the right words under questioning during a congressional hearing Wednesday and denied new accounts of drug use made against him by former teammate and close friend Andy Pettitte.

Using words like "misremembered" and mispronouncing the last name of his chief accuser, Brian McNamee, Clemens rambled and stumbled during his early remarks on Capitol Hill.

Clemens' reputation and legacy were on the line, and there was the possibility that criminal charges could follow after the seven-time Cy Young Award winner testified.
"I have never taken steroids or HGH," Clemens said under oath, his voice rising. "No matter what we discuss here today, I am never going to have my name restored."

For many, his denials rang hollow.

"It's hard to believe you, sir. I hate to say that," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat. "You're one of my heroes, but it's hard to believe."

McNamee's answers were generally quick and concise. His credibility also came under scrutiny.

"You're here under oath, and yet we have lie after lie after lie after lie," said Rep. Dan Burton, an Indiana Republican.

It seemed clear nearly from the start of the 4 1/2 -hour session that the committee would not treat Clemens with kid gloves, despite all the face-to-face sit-downs he did with representatives in recent days -- sometimes posing for photos or signing autographs for staff members.

In fact, after Clemens interrupted committee chairman Henry Waxman at the end, the California Democrat pounded the gavel and said: "Excuse me, but this is not your time to argue with me."

When it was over, Clemens avoided reporters by leaving the hearing room through a back door. Just before exiting, he paused to shake hands with Tom Davis, the ranking Republican on the committee.

Exactly two months after the Mitchell Report was released, Clemens and McNamee were separated by one seat in the same wood-paneled room where Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro saw their careers tarnished during a hearing in March 2005. In a reference to McGwire's evasions that day, Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., admonished Wednesday's witnesses by saying: "It's better not to talk about the past than to lie about the past."
Clemens briefly stared at McNamee, his former employee, during his accuser's opening statement and later pointed several times at his former personal trainer. For the most part, they did not look at each other.

Members of Congress questioned the credibility of both.

Waxman pointed out inconsistencies in Clemens' comments and accused him of possibly attempting to influence statements to the committee by the pitcher's former nanny.

Burton repeatedly read remarks McNamee had made, and each time the former trainer was forced to admit they were untrue.

"This is really disgusting. You're here as a sworn witness. You're here to tell the truth," he said. "I don't know what to believe. I know one thing I don't believe and that's you."

The hearing seemed to split the committee along party lines, with the Democrats reserving their most pointed queries for Clemens, and the Republicans giving McNamee a rougher time. Chris Shays, a Connecticut Republican, likened the hearing to a "Roman Circus" featuring gladiators.

Cummings set the tone within minutes, repeatedly reminding Clemens he was under oath and admonishing the pitcher to "keep your voice up." McNamee also was asked to pull his microphone closer.

The hearing started about an hour after several teams opened spring training. This was far from the sunny settings of Florida and Arizona.

Debbie Clemens, the pitcher's wife, sat behind her husband and listened as Waxman implicated her in HGH use, citing statements by Pettitte. Later, Clemens read a statement from his wife and said she "has been broken up over this."

IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky, a key member of the federal prosecution team against Barry Bonds, watched from a second-row seat. Asked why by a reporter, he declined comment.

Bonds, baseball's home run king, was indicted in November on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from his 2003 testimony to a grand jury in which he denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. Because of his denials under oath, Clemens could be subjected to a similar criminal probe.

Pettitte, who was excused from testifying, said in a statement to the committee that Clemens admitted to him as long as 10 years ago that he used HGH. Waxman read from affidavits by Pettitte and Pettitte's wife, Laura, supporting the accusations.
"Andy Pettitte is my friend. He was my friend before this. He will be my friend after this and again. I think Andy has misheard," Clemens said. "I think he misremembers."

McNamee told Mitchell that he injected Clemens 16 to 21 times with steroids and human growth hormone from 1998-01, and that Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch used HGH. In his opening statement, McNamee said he might have injected Clemens and Knoblauch more than that.

"I have helped taint our national pastime," McNamee said. "Make no mistake: When I told Sen. Mitchell that I injected Roger Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs, I told the truth."

Waxman said McNamee, a former New York City police officer, lied to police seven years ago during an investigation of a possible rape. He also was tough on Clemens.

"We have found conflicts and inconsistencies in Mr. Clemens' account. During his deposition, he made statements that we know are untrue," Waxman said.

In the affidavit, Pettitte said Clemens backtracked when the subject of HGH came up again in conversation in 2005, before the same House committee held the first hearing on steroids in baseball.

Pettitte said in the affidavit that he asked Clemens in 2005 what he would do if asked about performance-enhancing substances. Pettitte said Clemens responded by saying Pettitte misunderstood the previous exchange in 1999 or 2000 and that, in fact, Clemens had been talking about HGH use by his wife in the original conversation.

Clemens read a statement from his wife in which she acknowledged using HGH once, without his knowledge.

"She has been broken up over this for a long time," Clemens said. "She feels like a pawn."