The Secret Atrocity- UK War Crime Cover Up Fails

The High Court today lifted a gagging order stopping the media reporting allegations of torture and brutality by British troops in Iraq.  Soldiers are said to have captured 31 Iraqis following an ambush in May 2004 before killing 22 and leaving only nine injured survivors after detaining them at military headquarters in Abu Naji. However reporting restrictions imposed earlier on by the court have now been lifted following a petition by several national newspapers and the BBC.

It has been claimed the men were seized by the British Army following a firefight on the road from Amara to Basra, near Majar al-Kabir in south-east Iraq. Iraqi families and survivors are seeking compensation and a ruling at a High Court hearing, due to start in the near future, that the Government is legally obliged to set up an independent inquiry into the incident. Death certificates to go before the court are said to state that corpses of Iraqis rounded up showed signs of “mutilation” and “torture”.

Lawyers investigating the allegations say the testimonies of five witnesses to the events “combine to give a harrowing account of what took place”. The Ministry of Defence has denied there was evidence of wrongdoing by soldiers, including the deliberate mutilation of corpses.

Lawyers Phil Shiner and Martyn Day of Leigh Day are representing the Iraqis. They travelled out to Istanbul earlier this month to meet with some of the alleged survivors and the other witnesses to the events. Mr Shiner said today: “The testimonies of these five men taken over five days in Istanbul by myself and Martyn contain shocking material and combine to give a harrowing account of what took place. I have never heard such evidence in nearly 30 years of being a solicitor.”

Martyn Day said: “Phil and I are clear that what took place in Majar is of massive consequence not just for the British Army and the British Government but for the British people. Today is the first step in ensuring what happened in Majar is brought out into the open.”

The fresh allegations of brutality by UK forces come after it was announced that no one will be held responsible for the killing of Iraqi civilian Baha Mousa who was beaten to death in Army custody five years ago. The decision was branded a shameful indictment of the way politicians, the military and its prosecuting authority dealt with the tragic case. And now the MoD faces further pressure after it failed to keep secret these new alllegations of abuse by British troops.

The gagging order blocked the naming of any of the Iraqi claimants, or the telling of their stories, until a final decision was taken on whether there will be any criminal prosecutions against any soldiers. The ban was imposed last December by Lord Justice Thomas, sitting with Mr Justice Silber, after the Ministry of Defence confirmed the possibility of criminal prosecutions.

Lord Justice Thomas said “adverse publicity” arising from the civil High Court case would be “highly undesirable”. But today, in an extraordinary judicial clash of views, another senior judge, Lord Justice Moses – also sitting with Mr Justice Silber – overturned the ban “in its entirety”. He ruled there was “ample material” to support the proposition that the proceedings to be brought in the High Court should be “in the public domain”, and ample authority “for the good reasons why that should be so”.

The MoD had wanted to keep secret the names of the Army regiments allegedly involved. But Lord Justice Moses ruled there was no basis for keeping secret the names of those who were subject to investigation. The possibility of there being any prosecution was “far too remote”, said the judge, and there was certainly no statutory prohibition on the publication of names.

Mr Justice Silber said: “For the reasons given by (Lord Justice Moses), I agree with him.” The BBC’s Panorama programme, which is preparing an item on the Majar incident, welcomed today’s ruling. Deputy editor Frank Simmonds said: “Panorama is very pleased with the judgment as it clears the way for a more constructive dialogue with the MoD on matters of clear public interest.”

During the hearing, Lord Justice Moses said it was “barmy” that it had taken so long for the military authorities to investigate what had happened at Majar in 2004. He said: “It is not fair on them (the soldiers) as well as on everybody else.”

Jonathan Swift, appearing for the MoD, said fresh investigations had become necessary as a result of the witness statements made by the Iraqi claimants in the pending High Court hearing. He said he was only seeking to uphold the gagging order in so far as it prohibited the naming of the regiments involved. The judge said: “It is not the way it works. If you are right then it is one rule for the MoD and another rule for the ordinary citizen.”

Mr Swift said he was not suggesting there should be different rules for different categories, but a no-names order was necessary in the present case “on a precautionary basis” because possible criminal proceedings could be undermined by publicity.

But the judge said: “There is nothing unusual in this case in relation to the disclosure of the identity of someone who is being investigated and where there remains the possibility of future criminal proceedings.” There was no basis for an order that there should not be disclosure of those who were subject to investigation.

So the cover up has failed, what else remains hidden by the establishment? This is war, this always happens. This is what was chosen, this is why Blair must be prosecuted.

(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;  {Nuremberg Tribunal defined Crimes against Peace}

Sit Rep

Power has been down, the phone is intermittent, net access likewise.

So…with gales and hail and wobbly comms & power this may be the only post, or it might not, but if it is- now you know why. Like they say rather than curse the darkness light a candle and I have many candles ready, can’t run a mac and a telecom exchange off ’em though.

The Police State ConsenSUS

Mr Cameron said concern about a return to “sus” laws – one of the factors behind inner city riots in the early 1980s – were misplaced and the police were no longer racist.

Labour has been locked in a war of words with the Conservatives over stop and search, with the two parties promoting apparently similar policies.

In an interim report published last year, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the chief inspector of constabulary in England and Wales, said police were bogged down in red tape and afraid to use their own judgement. 

Well I’m reassured, white, rich, Eton educated conservative leader can categorically tell the police aren’t racist and he should golly gosh well know being the aforementioned- white, rich, Eton educated conservative leader. And better yet both parties want to outdo each other in how much power they give to the police, go democracy! And dear old ‘Sir’ Ronnie Flanagan, former head of the RUC-

In RFJ’s submission to The Patten Commission on Policing, we recall an incident that occurred during an investigation into threats against defence lawyers by the UN Special Rapporteur on The Independence of Judges and Lawyers Mr.Param Cumaraswamy in October 1997. This incident involved the then Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan and his Assistant Chief Constable and then Head of Special Branch, Raymond White, during a meeting between the Special Rapporteur, Flanagan and White, which they stated that ‘some lawyers are working to the agenda of the paramilitaries’.

The comments so alarmed the Rapporteur and his assistant, Mr. Alan Parra, given that they were reminiscent of similar comments made by Mr. Douglas Hogg MP in the British Parliament after he was briefed by senior RUC officers in Downing St. in 1989. Within weeks of these comments being made human rights lawyer Pat Finucane was murdered. Mr. Finucane’s murder had been at the core of the Special Rapporteur’s inquiries during his visit to the North.

Special Branch officers protected loyalist paramilitary informants and failed to stop them committing up to 15 murders, according to a damning report by the police ombudsman for Northern Ireland published yesterday. There was clear evidence of collusion between members of the banned Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in north Belfast and police officers over a period of 12 years, the ombudsman, Nuala O’Loan, declared.

Last night there were calls for the resignation of the former chief constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, who is now head of the Inspectorate of Constabulary, with an overview of standards throughout policing.

Yeah, so let’s trust them with more power, what could possibly go wrong?

The Writing On The Wall

Thanks to www.sendamessage.nl (click pic for bigger size) and you too can have any message you want sprayed on the wall by Palestinian artists for a bargain 30 euros (or equivalent dollars) up to 100 characters and all the proceeds go to NGO‘s, FAQ here. My mum will see this on Sunday and I am quietly confident I have cornered the more unusual end of the get well greetings market (ok it’s missing a second ‘as’ so sue me). Now, what other artefacts of oppression can I advertise on? (Crass, moi?)

Also a good opportunity to mention Chest Doc in Palestine again- In summer 2007, a UK doctor spent two weeks in the West Bank. This is his story. Really worth your time to read his account.
(ht2 People’s Geography)

Suharto Posthumously Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize

Well not quite and hey after Kissinger…anyways, I am genuinely disturbed by this, in both the UK & US corporate mainstream media Suharto and our roles in his murderous reign have been whitewashed. A complete and thorough use of the memory hole. What disrespect for his victims, the raped, beaten, killed and tortured, they have been disappeared yet again, exactly how is this any different at all from morons denying the Holocaust? I am fucking disgusted.

The Widening Gyre: Monolines

The underpinnings of the irrational addictive cruel greed fantasy that is global capitalism are crumbling, it’s going to be bad-

A NEW and serious crack in the world’s financial system appeared last week when problems surfaced at a small set of obscure, but vitally important institutions – monoline insurers.

They make money by insuring against loans going wrong. If the issuer of a bond goes bust, they guarantee to step in and make interest payments and repay the principal. This security makes borrowing cheaper for companies.

Though the monolines started out in the 1970s to insure bonds issued by American local authorities, they have jumped on the boom in debt markets to grow explosively in recent years. They are estimated to stand behind bonds worth $2.5-$3.3 trillion.

In America, they have helped fund everything from building power stations to schools and hospitals. In Britain, they played a key role in financing the Channel Tunnel, upgrades to the London Underground, Arsenal’s new stadium and in £5.7 billion of private finance initiative projects.

Now the good times have come to a juddering halt. For many, the crisis has been building for six years after the monolines aggressively expanded into insuring collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) – exotic parcels of debt created by investment banks. It looked like a lucrative business as the debt markets boomed. But it has morphed into a monster that now threatens to consume them.

(Reuters) – An attempt by a New York insurance regulator to bailout monoline bond insurers is coming “too late” to avert ratings downgrades, with a broader multi-faceted regulatory response likely required, CreditSights said on Tuesday.

Spooked

MI5 has expanded fast, particularly into the regions. New offices were opened in the South East and Wales in 2006/7 – and by 2008, regional stations will house three times the number of staff originally planned, the report reveals.The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) – or, to use its more popular name, MI6 – grew at a rate of 3.6% in the last year compared to nearly 30% for MI5, but it has still been undergoing significant changes.

In its broadest definition, counter-terrorism now takes up 56% of MI6’s work and that figure is rising.

The committee also looked at the issue of whether the government was justified in saying that there were real national security considerations when it came to halting the Serious Fraud Office’s investigation into BAE Systems’ dealings with Saudi Arabia. Sir John told the committee that if Saudi Arabia had carried out a threat to withdraw counter-terrorist co-operation the results would be serious since it was a ‘an absolutely key country’, although the government declined to show the committee one note from the prime minister on the subject.

The government’s eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, has also been put under pressure with resources increasingly devoted to supporting MI5 operations. Making sure its resources keep pace has not always been easy.

Ooh, regional expansion, so kind of London centric England to give us the chance for more of this. And the spooks are pissed the media is leaked to, by whom though? This creates pressure from them to the government for more state control of the media, nice little circular grift that. Just how believable and independent of political interference are these cloak & dagger merchants…they support the government’s blocking of the fraud investigation of the BAE/Saudi/govt deals/bribes. Apart from y’know, promoting and rewarding the liars of Iraq, still, who wants to end up like David Kelly?

UK ID ‘Coercion’ Document Leak

No 2 ID appeal for the leaked document to be mirrored so here it is on the internet archive (pdf annotated by NO2ID), now spread it around!

The Government is looking at using “coercion” tactics as a way of introducing the controversial ID card scheme, a leaked memo suggests. The Home Office document said that young people could be made to apply for an ID card when they applied for a driving licence.

Gordon Brown has always insisted that ID cards would remain voluntary unless Parliament decided otherwise. But the latest memo – headed Options Analysis – suggests that officials are already thinking about how they can be made compulsory.

It states: “Various forms of coercion, such as designation of the application process for identity documents issued by UK ministers (eg, passports) are an option to stimulate applications in a manageable way.

“There are advantages to designation of documents associated with particular target groups, eg, young people who may be applying for their first driving licence.” (ht2 Andrew & BoingBoing)

Prisoners Of Empire

• Joan Anderson, 65, Casper, WY – 30 days and a $500 fine
• Ozone Bhaguan, 33, Duluth, MN – 90 days and no fine
• Le Anne Clausen, 29, Chicago, IL. – 30 days and no fine
• Art Landis, 74, Perkasie, PA – 30 days and no fine
• Ed Lewinson, 78, Newark NJ – 90 days and a $500 fine
• Chris Lieberman, 54, Albuquerque, NM – 60 days and no fine
• Diane Lopez Hughes, 58, Springfield, IL – 45 days and a $500 fine
• Tiel Rainelli, 25, Canton, OH. – 90 days and a $500 fine
• Gus Roddy, 45, Chicago, IL – 30 days and a $500 fine
• Stephen Schweitzer, 45, Binghamtom, NY – 60 days and a $500 fine
• Michelle Yipé, 45, of Argonia, KS – 30 days and a $500 fine

The Eleven courageous souls that willingly put their freedom and bodies at risk to stand in witness against the SOA/WHINSEC during the November 2007 Vigil have been sentenced to federal prison on charges of “trespassing on a military base”.

The trial, which began at 9:00 AM this morning in Columbus, Georgia, took place in a courthouse located just a few miles from Fort Benning, the current site of the SOA/WHINSEC. An institute known around the world for its ties to brutal dictatorships and human rights abuses, which continues to operate, unchallenged by our government but not by the people.

Take action to close SOA/WHINSEC: Legislative Action Index

Second ORB Survey Confirms 1 Million Iraq Toll

Via a comment by JamieSW of The Heathlander at Complex System of Pipes–

Further survey work undertaken by ORB, in association with its research partner IIACSS, confirms our earlier estimate that over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the conflict which started in 2003.

Following responses to ORB’s earlier work, which was based on survey work undertaken in primarily urban locations, we have conducted almost 600 additional interviews in rural communities. By and large the results are in line with the ‘urban results’ and we now estimate that the death toll between March 2003 and August 2007 is likely to have been of the order of 1,033,000. If one takes into account the margin of error associated with survey data of this nature then the estimated range is between 946,000 and 1,120,000.  [links to full tables & methodology at site]

Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

“My name is Sarah and I am in psychological operations,” said another US officer and proudly showed us around a newly established radio Fallujah.

When I asked what the hospital lacked Dr Kamal said wearily: “Drugs, fuel, electricity, generators, a water treatment system, oxygen and medical equipment.” It was difficult not to think that American assistance might have gone to the hospital rather than the business development centre.

And talking of Fallujah this post by Stephen Soldz shows how embedding journalists is the antithesis of a free press, in fact it shows how overall In-Bedding journalists (and how very consensual it was) is what has gone on as the political and military establishment seek to lie without compunction to achieve their goals, to slaughter, to enter the abyss.

“‘The logic is: You flatten Fallujah, hold up the head of Fallujah, and say “Do our bidding, or you’re next,”‘  

Ignore BBC Coverage Of Suharto

On Suharto their position cannot be trusted, instead read John Pilger’s piece here. To see the problems with the BBC coverage got to the Medialens message board here and put Suharto in the search messages box.

Jonathan Head of the BBC writes– I knew perfectly well what kind of response
: my piece would receive from people who focus
: exclusively on human rights, and I have got
: plenty of them. But I can assure you I know
: very few Indonesians who share your view of
: Suharto, and as I wrote I believe their
: views, wrong-headed or not, are what count.

As one poster responds– Well my wife is from Indonesia and I’ve chatted extensively to her – and her family back in Indonesia – about Suharto. The fact of the matter is that Suharto is indeed held in high regard by many Indonesians, principally because the price of rice remained relatively stable (and low) throughout his rule (it has sky-rocketed since 1997).

What’s also evident, however, is that very few Indonesians are aware of the scale of the atrocities committed against, inter alia, the “communists” and the East Timorese. I recently showed my wife Pilger’s “Death of a Nation” (re East Timor) and her mouth literally hit the floor. She had no idea. If I recall correctly, she said something like: “Well they didn’t tell us anything about that. All we were taught was that Suharto was a good man who wanted to keep Indonesia together.”

So, Head’s retort that he is simply reporting the views of ordinary Indonesians is naive (or even disingenuous) since it doesn’t take account of the fact that Indonesians were exposed to massive amounts of propaganda (mostly through omission). In addition, the fact that so many Indonesians are now struggling with increased rice and fuel prices means that the Suharto era is invariably viewed through rose-tinted spectacles.

And very glaringly no mention is made of American & British support and profiting from the slaughter, perhaps they are ashamed the BBC was used by the FCO to spread propaganda at the time. Although surely the best reaction to that is to come clean and make up for past mistakes. Did the BBC report that Saddam Hussein was a good man because it only found propagandised and terrified Iraqis to talk to? No of course not but then its criticism of him did suit powerful interests, accurate criticism of Suharto goes against those interests (and in fact would reveal direct alliances with him) hence the hagiography currently dirtying up the BBC’s reputation via it’s website , Head’s legacy piece is better even as he seems to be saying it was somewhat a ‘professional’ job

: My personal belief is that it is very
: damaging for indonesia to leave the
: brutalities of Suharto’s rule uninvestigated
: and unpunished. But I am a reporter, and it
: is my job to reflect what I find here, not
: to tell Indonesians how they should react to
: the death of a man who shaped their country.

But… ‘ I knew perfectly well what kind of response my piece would receive from people who focus exclusively on human rights,’ Yes you dirty freaks with your insistence on not being tortured and killed, get a fucking life! After all-

They passed laws allowing foreign companies to own 100 percent of theise resources, handed out “tax holidays,” and within two years, Indonesia’s natural wealth – copper, nickel, hardwood, rubber and oil – was being divided up among the largest mining and energy companies in the world.
Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine, pp. 69.

He was good for imperial business you bloody hippies! Ahem. Although Head used to be a human rights activist according to his BBC bio-

He graduated from Cambridge University in 1982 with a degree in History, and from the London School of Oriental and African Studies in 1985 with an MA in South East Asian Studies. In the Eighties he worked as a human rights activist on Indonesia and East Timor.

But now professionalism is what pays the bills and it is probably unfair to focus on one reporter, something institutional has decreed our support for a tyrant is best left in the memory hole. Is it silly to expect better from the BBC (in this post Hutton deference to the Labour establishment time). Hilariously (& insultingly) they do mention the CIA on his obit, in that they link to the CIA world factbook, such loyal deference to power.

Amnesty Reports Increased Arrests In Burma

Amnesty International’s research completely contradicts the assurance that arrests had stopped and that no more would take place given to UN Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari in early November by Myanmar’s Prime Minister Thein Sein.

“Four months on from the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, rather than stop its unlawful arrests the Myanmar government has actually accelerated them,” said Catherine Baber, director of Amnesty International Asia-Pacific programme. “The new arrests in December and January target people who have attempted to send evidence of the crackdown to the international community, clearly showing that the government’s chief priority is to silence its citizens who would hold them to account.”

Gambari has visited twice and was promised a third visit soon, as part of what Myanmar, which was formerly known as Burma, said was a policy of cooperation with the United Nations. But the junta now says it will not be convenient for him to come until April.

“This is business as usual for them,” said U Aung Zaw, the editor of Irrawaddy Magazine, an exile magazine published in Thailand.

“When they are under siege, they always create such a smoke screen to keep away international pressure,” he said. “They postpone, they say they are restoring normalcy, they keep arresting people.”

Then there are the recent bombings which the regime blame on the Karen National Union and hint at the CIA while opposition groups deny knowledge and think the regime might be behind them to allow for further repression. If it is armed resistance, it’s understandable. At Davos the UK, USA & France put out a joint statement, while Total put out leaflets to justify their trade with the regime. Oddly the most attention Burma will get in the next month will probably be because of the Rambo film, um, which kind of makes Baudrillard’s simulacra arguments look rather convincing (and with added explosions & botox), ho-hum. The Asian Pacific People’s Partnership  excellent round up for last week is here.

• Thailand’s PTT and Korea’s Daewoo are putting more investments into Burma’s oil and gas
• During this week, the regime’s hospital stops providing medical assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS

And India, Bangladesh and Burma are meeting about maritime boundaries and gas rights, as the business friendly regime also oversee people being forcibly moved off corporate developments & Skoda eye the developing market.

I think there are some fine words spoken but when it comes to a buck being made, talk is cheap. Business as usual.

Troops As Imperial Props

British soldiers may be encouraged to wear their uniforms while off-duty in an attempt to boost their popularity with the general public. The possible move is part of an ongoing review into how best to improve the public’s perception of the military.

Returning British soldiers have been met with mixed reactions from a public that does not whole-heartedly support the country’s involvement in the Iraq war. The MoD spokesman said the review is an attempt to find a way to ensure the armed forces are better appreciated and understood by the general public.

Er no, it’s to further use them to promote government policy. And no, I will not blindly respect the military or someone who has knowingly volunteered their labour to commit a war crime, that is not all troops, but let’s stop putting halos on camouflage, some are in it for the violence and the power. Many got used because they were already in, many (perhaps most) are used as Yoshie posted–

“He didn’t have to go to Iraq. He chose to go. He wanted to be with his brothers.” These are the words of the clearly distraught and heartbroken mother of Thomas, a marine recently killed in Iraq, describing her son’s fatal decision to extend his enlistment in order to deploy with his unit. Of course, his family tried to convince him otherwise, but Thomas was adamant that “abandoning” his comrades as they headed into harm’s way was not an option. . . . We fight, then, neither to achieve victory nor to kill an “enemy.” We fight and, like Thomas, we die, because we love and could not live with the guilt and the shame of abandoning our brothers. (Camillo Mac Bica, “The Brotherhood of Warriors: The Love That Binds Us” MRZine, 19 March 2007)

In other words, the ruling class grasp what is best and noblest in men, their love for one another; mutilate it by excluding the Other — enemy soldiers and civilians and homosexuals in their own ranks, for instance — from men’s love; and exploit it for their profit.

I have sympathy for them but by 2004 the lies and slaughter were very obvious, at that point if you signed up you are supporting the crime with deadly force, it’s time to think about that. As Nezua wrote You Forge Of Yourself A Dull Weapon. The elevation of military service to the level of some kind of saintly calling by venal politicians is a very familiar characteristic of fascism.

The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. Ruling elites always identified closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supported it. A disproportionate share of national resources was allocated to the military, even when domestic needs were acute. The military was seen as an expression of nationalism, and was used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.

Need help: War Resisters International–

If you have a sincere religious, political or moral objection to the war on Iraq, or to any other campaign, then you are legally entitled to an honourable discharge as a conscientious objector.
The procedure can be prolonged and difficult. You are advised to contact the AT EASE helpine for further advice on a Sunday 5pm-7pm. 0207 247 5164
Email: atease -at- advisory.freeserve.co.uk
(replace -at- with @ and remove spaces)
Your first step is a letter to your Commanding Officer stating your position.

Update: Worshipping Empty Uniforms podcast from Ruins of Empire.

Bastard Dead

Thanks to Chicken Backup I learned Suharto is dead, I hope there’s room for a big dancefloor over his grave. John Pilger-

 In 1965, in Indonesia, the American embassy furnished General Suharto with roughly 5,000 names. These were people for assassination, and a senior American diplomat checked off the names as they were killed or captured. Most were members of the PKI, the Indonesian Communist Party. Having already armed and equipped Suharto’s army, Washington secretly flew in state-of-the-art communication equipment whose high frequencies were known to the CIA and the National Security Council advising the president, Lyndon B Johnson. Not only did this allow Suharto’s generals to co-ordinate the massacres, it meant that the highest echelons of the US administration were listening in.

The Americans worked closely with the British. The British ambassador in Jakarta, Sir Andrew Gilchrist, cabled the Foreign Office: “I have never concealed from you my belief that a little shooting in Indonesia would be an essential preliminary to effective change.” The “little shooting” saw off between half a million and a million people.However, it was in the field of propaganda, of “managing” the media and eradicating the victims from people’s memory in the west, that the British shone. British intelligence officers outlined how the British press and the BBC could be manipulated. “Treatment will need to be subtle,” they wrote, “eg, a) all activities should be strictly unattributable, b) British [government] participation or co-operation should be carefully concealed.”

Judging from the BBC obit, the whitewash is still going strong. Via Chicken Mark Curtis-

In early October 1965, a group of army officers in Indonesia led by Suharto took advantage of political instability to launch a terror campaign against the powerful Indonesian Communist party (PKI). Much of the killing was carried out by Islamist-led mobs promoted by the military to counter communist and democratic forces. Within a few months, nearly a million people lay dead, while Suharto removed President Ahmed Sukarno and emerged as ruler of a brutal regime that lasted until 1998.

 The declassified files show that Britain wanted the Indonesian army to act and encouraged it to do so.

British policy was “to encourage the emergence of a general’s regime”, one intelligence official explained. Another noted that “it seems pretty clear that the generals are going to need all the help they can get and accept without being tagged as hopelessly pro-western, if they are going to be able to gain ascendancy over the communists”. Therefore, “we can hardly go wrong by tacitly backing the generals”.

What does the beeb say-

In 1965, a botched coup attempt eventually propelled him to power.

Exact details are sketchy, but on the morning of 1 October, six senior right-wing generals were captured and murdered. Suharto himself was not at home at the time, and was not caught up in the sweep.

As one of the few surviving top generals, Suharto played a key role in the political turmoil that followed.

Communist sympathisers were blamed for the killings. In a wave of retribution that swept across Indonesia, hundreds of thousands of apparent communists and leftists – as well as members of the envied Chinese community – were massacred.

Back to Pilger-

  the Foreign Office opened a branch of its Information Research Department (IRD) in Singapore.

The IRD was a top-secret, cold war propaganda unit headed by Norman Reddaway, one of Her Majesty’s most experienced liars. Reddaway and his colleagues manipulated the “embedded” press and the BBC so expertly that he boasted to Gilchrist in a secret message that the fake story he had promoted – that a communist takeover was imminent in Indonesia – “went all over the world and back again”. He described how an experienced Sunday newspaper journalist agreed “to give exactly your angle on events in his article . . . ie, that this was a kid-glove coup without butchery”.

These lies, bragged Reddaway, could be “put almost instantly back to Indonesia via the BBC”.

With British-supplied Hawk jets and machine-guns, Suharto’s army went on to crush the life out of a quarter of the population of East Timor: 200,000 people. Using the same Hawk jets and machine-guns, the same genocidal army is now attempting to crush the life out of the resistance movement in West Papua and protect the Freeport company, which is mining a mountain of copper in the province. (Henry Kissinger is “director emeritus”.) Some 100,000 Papuans, 18 per cent of the population, have been killed; yet this British-backed “project”, as new Labour likes to say, is almost never reported. 

Yeah, sketchy huh?

Turkish ‘Gladio’ Fascists In Trouble & State Terror

About frickin’ time-

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish authorities charged on Saturday 13 ultra-nationalists, including retired army officers, with involvement in plans for a violent uprising against the government, Turkish media said.

The court decision followed the arrests of dozens of people this week in a police investigation into a far-right group known as Ergenekon. Turkish media say the group had been plotting a series of bomb attacks and assassinations.

Retired brigadier general Veli Kucuk, retired major Zekeriya Ozturk and lawyer Kemal Kerencsiz were among those facing charges of inciting people to armed revolt, private broadcaster CNN Turk said.

Kerencsiz is well known in Turkey for prosecuting writers and journalists, including Nobel Literature Laureate Orhan Pamuk, under article 301 of the country’s penal code that makes it a crime to insult “Turkishness”.

Officials have declined to comment on the Ergenekon case, which began with the seizure of explosives and weapons at a house in Umraniye, Istanbul, last summer.

Turkish newspapers said this week the group had been planning to kill Pamuk, author of novels such as “Snow” and “My Name is Red”, as well as several Kurdish politicians.

The newspapers also said the group was preparing a series of bomb attacks aimed at fomenting chaos ahead of a coup in 2009 against Turkey’s centre-right government, whose European Union-linked reforms are opposed by the ultra-nationalists.

The Ergenekon group may have been behind the murder last January of Hrant Dink, a prominent Turkish Armenian journalist, outside his office in Istanbul, newspapers have quoted police sources as saying.

Some commentators have seen in the Ergenekon case the workings of a “deep state”, a phrase used to denote ultra-nationalists in the security forces and state bureaucracy who are ready to subvert the law for their own political ends.

Police have been observing Ergenekon, which is named after a valley in Turkish nationalist mythology, for several years and have compiled a 7,000-page dossier on the group and its activities, newspapers say.

But please ladies & gentlemen notice how these ‘ultra-nationalists’ do not get tarred with the ‘terrorist’ brush and the case is not exactly headline news. Interestingly one Turkish site says-

Turkey determined to purge its Gladio: The prime minister has said a police inquiry resulting in the arrest of dozens of people, including ex-army officers and lawyers, shows the determination of Turkey to bring an end to state and military-linked gangs.

No wonder this is not a big item, the right are always excused their terrorism as a matter of European policy, instead it is called extremism. Gladio and the left behind program where America and Britain funded Nazis & right wing nationalists to perpetrate terror attacks to be blamed on the left is still a much denied open secret, yet the evidence abounds of state sponsored terrorism, except they are our states doing the false flag sponsoring. Thus the mainstream press is extremely reluctant to broach the subject, for example this from the Independent recently headlined How Britain plotted coup d’état to topple Italy’s Communists yet no mention of Gladio at all in the article, an oblique reference to Kissinger is as far as the writer will go (ooh that connects Gladio, Turkey, Pakistan, BCCI etc etc Sibel Edmonds and nuclear proliferation! Oh my, lions and tigers and bears! The tales ‘enry could tell). A sort of insider tip, if you know the history the story ads something to it, if you don’t it is unlikely this will enlighten you much. Gladio is also important because neo-cons who helped lie us into Iraq and are doing the same with Iran were cutting their teeth in these programs, (hello Michael ‘yellow cake‘ Ledeen). And now another state within the state of right wing terrorists is revealed in Turkey, ostensibly because Turkey wants to play nice with the EU, but what is for sure is yet again the story is not going to lead to a full revelation of the extent of right wing terrorism in Europe and governments involvement in it. Which reminds me, can you imagine you had a story that connected the British government, with terrorists and a multi-million narcotics kingpin, imagine the splash that would make, yeah ok you see where this is going, a handful of reports on local Northern Irish news, otherwise silence.

An ex-RUC reservist who had 40 properties worth about £5m confiscated by the Assets Recovery Agency has said he is happy with what he kept. In an out of court settlement, Colin Armstrong, 40, from Tullynewbank Road, Glenavy, retains four properties, including a house in France.

It’s hilarious, out of court and he keeps a King’s ransom anyway-

…retains four properties, including a house in France…He also keeps a motorbike, cars, including a Porsche, and bank accounts… The Assets Recovery Agency has agreed to pay Mr Armstrong’s legal costs which amount to £175,000.

Hmmm, buying silence perchance? No one wants to get into loyalist collusion with the government’s security forces especially where drugs are concerned. No, only the bad guys on the other side do that. Meanwhile the government expects us to trust it with a 4 week -and if they get their way 6 week- detention without charge or evidence in ‘terrorist’ cases. Oh yeah, nothing to worry about there. Go back to sleep, everything’s fine…

Update: Part 3 of Sibel Edmonds Times interview and analysis without fear of UK libel (ie. “State Department official” come on down Marc Grossman!). Still a corporate news blackout in the homeland. The ‘war on terror’ the biggest grift going.