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I Witnessed the Golden Temple Siege

Witnessing the Amritsar siege; The singing presidents of Central Asia; Press freedom in Tunisia and a tribute to martial art movie mogul Run Run Shaw

The siege at Amritsar came back into the public eye this week with claims that Britain "colluded" with the Indian government over the bloody siege of the Sikh Golden Temple 30 years ago. Operation Blue Star, as it was codenamed, was aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists. The raid ended in a bloodbath and former Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Hindi reporter Satish Jacob was one of the few journalists at the scene watching it unfold.

Also on The Fifth Floor:

Singing Presidents
Does your president like to sing and dance in public? It's a habit that seems to be in vogue with many Central Asian leaders at the moment, from the president of Kazakhstan bursting into folk medley in a yurt, to the Turkmen leader DJing in a white tuxedo. Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Uzbek's Rustam Qobil and Elchin Suleymanov from the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Azeri service give their top three staged (and secretive) presidential pop moments and try to understand why music matters to the Central Asian political classes.

Tunisia Press Freedom
Did the fall of Ben Ali make any difference for press freedom in Tunisia? This week the country marked three years since the autocratic former president fled to Saudi Arabia in the face of huge protests. So has the Arab Spring delivered better or worse conditions for writers and journalists in Tunisia? Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Africa's Sihem Hassaini tells us about freedom, red lines and black books.

Favourite Statues
Last week ancient statues at an archaeological park in Colombia were apparently removed and replaced with cardboard cut-outs. Officials said the pieces were being transported to the national museum in Bogota, but it looked like a prank and disappointed visitors were not amused. We sent the Fifth Floor mic a roving to uncover other barmy statue stories. We hear from Latin American journalist Lourdes Heredia, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Brasil's Thomas Pappon and Tin Htar Swe from Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Burmese.

Run Run Shaw Tribute
Run Run Shaw was the co-founder of Shaw Brothers Studios, producing almost 1,000 films from early beginnings in 1937, almost up to his death earlier this month aged 107. Signature titles like The One-Armed Swordsman were huge hits, bringing together uncomplicated, trashy fiction with high action martial arts. Martin Yip from Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Chinese and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Hong Kong correspondent, Juliana Liu pay tribute to the man and his films.

Online Greatest Hits
Fifi Haroon picks out her favourite stories from the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's language service websites, including the hopeful Chinese bride who's advertising herself on a billboard and the Indian tiger who's stopping children from going to school.

Picture: Devotees arriving and departing from the Golden Temple in the Indian city of Amritsar
Picture credit: Douglas E. Curran/ AFP/Getty Images

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50 minutes

Last on

Sat 18 Jan 2014 02:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 17 Jan 2014 12:06GMT
  • Fri 17 Jan 2014 23:06GMT
  • Sat 18 Jan 2014 02:06GMT