Wikileaks says Sri Lankan Regime rejected LTTE terrorists surrender offer - but Mahinda's Regime Denies !

The Sri Lankan regime rejected a surrender offer by Brutal Tamil Tiger Terrorists at the end of the war, reports released through the Wikileaks website say.

They say that Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa (Brother of President Mahinda) dismissed US pressure to allow a mediated surrender with the words "we're beyond that now".

The leaked US cables suggest requests for the International Red Cross to go into the war zone were refused.

Sri Lanka's regime
The Sri Lankan civil war came to an end in May 2009 with the death of their terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran after the Tamil Tiger Terrorists made a last stand in the north-east of the island.

The leaked US documents - which appeared in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten - say that on 16 May 2009 the Norwegian ambassador called his US counterpart to report that he had received a phone call from Selvarasa Padmanathan - known as "KP" (Now he is with Mahinda and said to be providing funds for MR's Political Campaigns and Underworld work) - stating that the terrorists were prepared to surrender without conditions to a neutral third party.



Correspondents say that although Padmanathan was abroad at the time, it would not have been unusual for him as rebel head of foreign relations to make the offer.

Energetically refused

The documents say that the US ambassador then called the International Red Cross (ICRC) who told him that their staff were prepared to go into the conflict zone by military helicopter to mediate a surrender.

CRC head of delegation Paul Castella is quoted in the document as saying that Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa initially agreed to the arrangement, but first wanted the names of the rebel leaders who were prepared to surrender.

But the documents say that "despite helpful efforts from Norway" the rebels failed to provide such a list.

The documents say the government rejected repeated US requests to allow the ICRC into the conflict zone to help many dead and wounded civilians there.

According to the US cables, presidential adviser Basil Rajapaksa "energetically refused" to give the ICRC permission, accusing it of failing on "three consecutive days to evacuate the wounded, even though the Additional Government Agent had said it was safe to do so".

Wikileaks tells of NY travel agent who sought to ship jihad nukes in containers

CLASSIFIED assessments of Guantanamo Bay War on Terror prisoners to Wikileaks include a Pakistani-national Saifullah Paracha, who worked as a New York City travel agent, report his detailed knowledge of the export/import business to smuggle radioactive and nuclear weapons in shipping containers of clothing.

The 63-year-old has been held at the Guantanamo Bay prison following his arrest in 2003 in Thailand when his son Uzair, now serving a 30-year sentence for terrorism-related charges, provided information of his links with al Qaeda since the 9/11 terror attacks on the US.

Paracha allegedly used his international shipping expertise to provide a small group headed by 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed with information regarding port security. He noted his concern to the group trying to smuggle plastic explosives through US ports' security saying it "would make it difficult to smuggle radioactive materials into the country".

The dossier also provided details on Paracha's link to money laundering and al Qaeda video production, though the American Civil Liberties Union says the information is unreliable, according to the New York Times.

source: Shippingazette.com / picture: google.com

Is The Threat Of A Nuclear Strike One Of The Reasons Why Osama Bin Laden Has Not Been Captured?

The Guantánamo Bay files contain new claims about Osama bin Laden's escape from Tora Bora, which is regarded as one of the early key lapses by foreign forces in the Afghan war. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Why Was Osama Bin Laden Not Captured? -- IBTimes

Wikileaks has unravelled some of the documents which reveal the truth behind inaction than action by the United States in Afghanistan in the last one decade.

It was long wished that the U.S. army would one day nail down the most wanted terrorist Osama bin-Laden and bring him to Guantanamo Bay detention center. But the latest string of leaks reveal that al Qaeda had warned to set off a “nuclear hellstorm” if Osama bin Laden is ever captured or killed.

Read more ....

Posted byWar News Updates Editor

Leaked files reveal information about Gitmo detainees

 

April 25, 12:58 PM

Secret documents about detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison reveal new information about some of the men that the United States believes to be terrorists, according to reports about the files released by several American and European newspapers. The U.S. government criticized the publication as “unfortunate.”

The military detainee assessments were made public Sunday night by U.S. and European newspapers after the WikiLeaks website obtained the files. The records contain details of the more than 700 detainee interrogations and evidence the United States had collected against these suspected terrorists, according to the media outlets.

The files, known as Detainee Assessment Briefs or DABs, describe the intelligence value of the detainees and whether they would be a threat to the United States if released. To date, 604 detainees have been transferred out of Guantanamo while 172 remain locked up.

The disclosures are likely to provide human right activists with additional ammunition that some cases against inmates appear to be based on flawed evidence. But the DABs show certain inmates were more dangerous than previously known to the public and could complicate efforts by the United States to transfer detainees out of the controversial prison that President Barack Obama has failed to close.

The dossiers provide new insights into some of the prison’s most notorious detainees such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. According to The New York Times, Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, commanded a Maryland resident to kill Pakistan’s former present Pervez Musharraf.

Another high-value detainee, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, bragged that he outranked Mohammed who was then considered the terrorist group’s No.3. Al-Nashiri faces charges before a military commission for his suspected role in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.

U.S. officials said the documents “may or may not represent the current view of a given detainee” and criticized the decision by media organizations to publish the “sensitive information.”

The Washington Post reported that the DABs offered new details about the movement of Osama bin Laden and top deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri after the 9/11 attacks and the internal disputes that erupted within the terrorist organization.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.worldmag.com/

Life At Guantanamo. Wikileaks Reveals Who Is (And Was) At Guantanamo Bay Prison

The secret files include intelligence assessments of nearly 700 Guantanamo Bay detainees. (Reuters: Joe Skipper )

Military Documents Detail Life At Guantanamo -- NPR

Thousands of pages of previously secret military documents about detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison now put a name, a history and a face on hundreds of men in captivity there. The documents include details on 158 men on whom no information has ever been released.

The hundreds of classified documents — marked "secret" and "noforn," meaning the information is not to be shared with representatives of other countries — are assessments, interviews and internal memos from the Pentagon's Joint Task Force at Guantanamo. The task force was supposed to determine who the detainees were, how they might be connected to terrorism and whether they posed a threat to the U.S. and its allies in the future.

Read more ....

Posted by War News Updates Editor

Bradley Manning to be Moved to Fort Leavenworth

By: Michael Whitney

Bradley Manning is set to be moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The Pentagon is expected to announce the move tomorrow. Manning has been held in torturous conditions at Quantico Marine Base’s brig since July, just south of Washington, DC.

It remains to be seen what facility at Fort Leavenworth Manning will be held at, as the fort hosts two: The United States Disciplinary Barracks, the nation’s only maximum security military prison and home of death row; and the new Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, a military prison that holds convicted military members for 5 years or less, as well as those awaiting trial.

Moving Manning to Fort Leavenworth may serve to further isolate Manning, and may make it easier for the Pentagon to continue its abuse of Bradley Manning. If the Pentagon was getting serious about treating Manning well, they could lighten up at Quantico. Are they admitting Quantico is out of control? They already replaced the brig commander once. It seems the solution to Manning’s abuse isn’t to move him, it’s to control the people in charge of his treatment. But hopefully things will be better for Manning in Kansas. We’ll have to wait and see.
(This story has been updated from the original posting)

EU tells Uganda to protect gays

David Kato

The European Parliament has urged Uganda to decriminalise homosexuality and protect gays and lesbians after a prominent gay rights activist was murdered last month.

The 27-nation assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday calling on Ugandan authorities to conduct an in-depth investigation into the murder of David Kato and probe individuals who publicly called for his killing.

It urged Uganda to ensure gays and lesbians "are adequately protected against violence, and to take prompt action against all threats or hate speech likely to incite violence, discrimination or hostility towards them".

The call came on the same day that a leaked US embassy cable on WikiLeaks revealed that Kato was mocked at a UN-backed debate on Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill where a member of the Uganda Human Rights Commission "openly joked and snickered" with the supporters of the bill.

According to the cable, the debate in December 2009 was organised with funding from the UN and sought to discuss a controversial bill seeking to impose the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" for consenting adults who have gay sex.

A US diplomat quoted in the cable said Kato delivered a well-written speech against the bill introduced by a born-again MP, David Bahati, but his words were almost inaudible due to "his evident nervousness".

Homophobia in Uganda runs deep and ministers and pastors often rail against gays and lesbians, accusing them of importing and adopting "rotten" Western culture.

Kato's murder on January 26 triggered a wave of condemnation from rights groups who criticised Uganda for ignoring the plight of gay people in the country and urged authorities to investigate the murder.

Although the Ugandan police have since arrested a suspect in connection with Kato's murder, they insist his death was a not a consequence of his gay activism.

The suspect is a male prostitute who confessed to murdering Kato after he reneged on an agreement to pay for sex, police say.

Last year, Kato was named and pictured by an anti-gay tabloid called Rolling Stone in a story that carried the headline "Hang Them" in reference to gay rights campaigners.

The people who appeared in the tabloid are "now in genuine danger of being persecuted, are in most cases now homeless, unemployed and forced to avoid public places, and must hide from public view," the parliament resolution said.

Source: Al Jazeera, Feb. 18, 2011

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Survey shows 40 percent of Muslims students in UK endorse Islamic law: WikiLeaks

Nearly one-third of Muslim college students in Britain support killing in the name of religion, while 40 percent want to live under Islamic law, according to a secret cable from the U.S. Embassy in London that reviewed public polling data and government population predictions.

A survey of 600 Islamic and 800 non-Islamic students at 30 universities found that 32 percent of the Muslims believed in religious killing, while only 2 percent of non-Muslim students felt religious murder was justified, the cable said, referring to a poll conducted by the Center for Social Cohesion.

The embassy cable, released by the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, said the same survey revealed that 54 percent of Muslim students want to be represented by an Islamic-based political party.

The poll also showed that 40 percent of Muslim students endorse Islamic, or Shariah, law, which can impose the death penalty for religious heresy and adultery, often by stoning, or the amputation of hands for theft. Since 2008, Britain has allowed Muslims to follow Shariah law in civil cases, but not in criminal trials.

Click here to read the full article.

Source: Embassy Row, James Morrison, The Washington Post, December 19, 2010

Burma Involves In Nuclear Program, Helping By North Korea: Wikileaks

By MALILA Harris

BURMA NEWS - According to secret US cables released by Wikileaks, North Korea supports Burma to develop missile and nuclear sites. A witness says Burma constructa an underground bunker in a remote forest with the help of North Korean workers.

Although Burmese military regime denied any involvement in nuclear program but the secret documents affirmed that the regime might be trying to build a nuclear weapon, despite denials.

The report was prepared over the past six years, confirming dockworkers and foreign traders had witnessed the speculating site where Burma might develop the proposed sites.

The report dating from August 2004 cited an eye witness, a Burmese officer in an engineering unit, saying a site in a town called Minbu in west-central Myanmar where with the help of North Korea Burmese government was building surface-to-air missile.

The cable reads, an underground concrete structure has been built that is 500ft from the top of the cave to the top of the hill above', is a probable place for nuclear program. The site is maintained by Burmese government and supported by North Korea. It is speculating that about 300 North Korean workers were working at the site.

Wikileaks has so far released more than 1,100 of 251,000 diplomatic cables.

Two Big Names Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang In Whistle Blower Cable

Xi Jinping

By ONE Liners Agency

China News - Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang - would be China's next president and premier, have now under the cover of whistle blower cable site WikiLeaks, which revealed the attitudes and concerns of two high profile Chinese political leaders, expecting to lead China from 2012.

The cable revealed that both had separate dinners with US Ambassador Clark Randt in March 2007, proudly proclaimed their development in their regions. Mr. Xi said he was a big fan of US war movies, while Mr. Li told the worry the corruption.

Mr Xi was Communist Party secretary in Zhejiang province and Mr Li held the same position in Liaoning at that time.

According to the cable, Xi Jinping frank and friendly conversation with Mr. Randt much concern on economic development in his region. He said the resident of the region were more troubled with education, costly housing and healthcare. Mr. Xi also raised question mark on the working style of the government and party officials. However, he said in such a large party where there were about 70 million party members, there bound to be some problems.

It is reported that he was a big fan of Hollywood movie, praising Spielberg film Saving Private Ryan, describing them as "grand and truthful". He said US movie makers were moral and good always prevail, while lamented that some Chinese movie makers ignore the value.

US cable describes controversial Saddam execution

A newly-leaked US diplomatic cable describes in detail the circumstances of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's execution, from guards telling him to "go to hell" to officials taking mobile phone pictures.

Saddam's execution in December 2006 sparked international controversy after mobile phone video of the sentence being carried out was published on the Internet showing witnesses taunting him as he was about to be hanged.

The controversies led then-US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to comment in the leaked cable that supporters of Saddam would use the poorly-conducted execution as an excuse to condemn what he said was a fair trial.

The cable, dispatched in January 2007 and classified SECRET, was one of several hundred US diplomatic reports that have so far been published by whistleblower website WikiLeaks out of a tranche of 250,000 that it says it has obtained.

According to the cable, Iraqi deputy prosecutor Monqith al-Faroun, in a meeting with Khalilzad, described a guard who was escorting Saddam to the execution platform telling the ousted president to "go to hell", remarks that Faroun said he admonished.

Faroun said that subsequently, he saw Iraqi officials present at the execution openly taking photographs with their mobile phone cameras, despite the fact that the devices were prohibited.

The lawyer added that as Saddam was conducting his final prayer before being hanged, one witness shouted, "Moqtada, Moqtada, Moqtada", in reference to the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr who rose to prominence after Saddam's fall from power.

The mobile phone footage, which spread across the Internet and was being sold on Baghdad streets in the days following the execution, showed an angry but composed Saddam standing on a steel platform in a dark hall, his hands bound and a rough hemp rope around his neck.

Several members of the party carrying out the hanging can be heard chanting, "Moqtada, Moqtada, Moqtada!" before Saddam is seen falling to his death as the metal trapdoor opens below his feet.

Commenting on the incident, the cable's author, whose identity is unclear, wrote, "The GOI's (government of Iraq) lack of a clear and coordinated plan to control the witnesses and conduct the execution resulted in a hastily run and confusing event."

The cable noted that the Iraqi witness list for the execution changed "several times prior to the execution and at one point included 20-30 personnel."

Khalilzad told Faroun, the cable said, that "Saddam's supporters would use the execution as an excuse to condemn what had been a fair and just trial."

Asked by Khalilzad what Iraq would change for subsequent executions, it said, "Faroun responded emphatically that the only witnesses who will be permitted are those required by law: a public prosecutor, a judge, a religious leader and the prison director.

"This, he concluded, will prevent unacceptable behavior and unnecessary controversy," the cable said.

Source: Agence France-Presse, December 5, 2010

Google Quit China For Political Reason: Wikileaks

Google China War

By ONE Liners Agency

CHINA NEWS - Yet another embarrassing revelation released by whistle-blowing site Wikileaks, cites a well placed source as saying the hacking of Google earlier this year, which forced the internet giant to quit China was “100% political.”

The leak US cables suggest that senior Chinese political men were behind the much controversial Google hacking story, though the cable denies any proof of top leaders to be involved in the incident.

It is reported that Beijing has been alarmed by Google’s high resolution satellite imagery, Google Earth.

Earlier this year, Google blamed China to attack the company by sophisticated cyber technology. It is said the email accounts of human right activists were among those hacked.

China also censored Google in its country, and to avoid increasing conflict, Google the country and moved its Chinese-language operations to Hong Kong.

The source who is oblivious and name is deleted from the text said the operations against Google this year from Chinese government were absolutely 100% political in nature, and not an attempt of common perception to boost domestic search engines such as Baidu.

However, the writer says it’s still in doubt whether President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao were aware of government’s ulterior action against the search engine.

Mervyn King Told US Cameron and Osborne Were 'Out of Their Depth’
THE GUARDIAN: Diplomatic memos reveal Bank governor thought top Conservatives lacked experience to deal with deficit

WikiLeaks cables reveal that Mervyn King was worried about David Cameron and George Osborne's lack of economic depth. Photograph: The Guardian
The head of the Bank of England privately criticised David Cameron and George Osborne for their lack of experience, the lack of depth in their inner circle and their tendency to think about issues only in terms of their electoral impact, according to leaked US embassy cables.

Mervyn King told the US ambassador, Louis Susman, he had held private meetings with the two Conservative politicians before the election to urge them to draw up a detailed plan to reduce the deficit.

He said the pair operated too much within a narrow circle and "had a tendency to think about issues only in terms of politics, and how they might affect Tory electorability". He also predicted that economic recovery would be "a long drawn-out process", since Britain had not been through an economic restructuring.

His apparent pressure on the Tories, a few months before the election, gives further credence to the claim that King was central in persuading leading coalition figures to back a far more dramatic deficit-reduction programme than any politician advocated during the election campaign. He has recently been criticised by members of the Bank's monetary policy committee for straying into politics. Read on and comment >>> David Leigh and Patrick Wintour | Tuesday, November 30, 2010

WikiLeaks: Mervyn King Should Quit Over 'Political Bias', Says Blanchflower
THE GUARDIAN: Leaked US cables show governor of Bank of England's 'thirst for power has clouded his judgment', former colleague says

David Blanchflower, a leading economist and former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, has called on Mervyn King to quit as governor of the Bank of England following leaked US cables that he claims show King's "thirst for power and influence ... has clouded his judgment one too many times".

In his toughest attack on his former colleague to date, Blanchflower seized on revelations that suggest King may have been central in persuading leading coalition figures to back a far more dramatic deficit-reduction programme than any politician advocated during the election campaign.

Blanchflower, who stepped down from the policy committee last year and who has warned the coalition government's deficit reduction programme could lead to a recession, seized on the information revealed in the latest tranche of leaked US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks to say King's position was now untenable. >>> Hélène Mulholland, political reporter | Wednesday, November 01, 2010

David Blanchflower: Mervyn King Must Go
THE GUARDIAN: In showing his true party political colours, Mervyn King has compromised the Bank of England's independence

Mervyn King is one smart guy and that has always been abundantly clear. Unfortunately, it is his thirst for power and influence that has clouded his judgment one too many times. He has now committed the unforgivable sin of compromising the independence of the Bank of England by involving himself in the economic policy of the coalition. He is expected to be politically neutral but has shown himself to be politically biased and as a result is now in an untenable position. King must go. >>> David Blanchflower | Wednesday, November 01, 2010

Bank Chief Attacks PM's 'Lack Of Experience'
The head of the Bank of England criticised David Cameron and George Osborne for their lack of experience ahead of the General Election, according to the latest leak of US diplomatic cables