Showing posts with label Faina Ukraine Kenya Sudan Russia tanks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faina Ukraine Kenya Sudan Russia tanks. Show all posts

Thursday 16 December 2010

YouTube: WikiRebels - The Documentary (Parts 1 - 4)

News just in from Channel 4, UK:
In the last few moments the Wikileak's founder Julian Assange has walked out of Westminster Crown Court [London] where he was granted bail earlier.

"Justice is not yet dead," he said.

Thanking his legal team and the rest but truth to the say it was a cautious statement and short. And more memorable for the number of flash bulb explosions than for what he said.

He is now on his way to his mansion arrest in Norfolk [England].

Andy Davies will have the details tonight.

Read more:
http://www.channel4.com/news/wikileaks-julian-assange-freed-on-bail
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YouTube: WikiRebels - The Documentary (Parts 1 - 4)

The following in-depth must-see video report regarding WikiLeaks contains four parts. Click on YouTube logo on video to read transcript at YouTube.



Extract from YouTube - "WikiRebels - The Documentary (1/4)":
zerwas2ky | December 09, 2010 | 913 likes, 11 dislikes -
Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhTfOL9_HBE&feature=&p=6D8EE2E0B836F096&index=0&playnext=1

From the description:

"Exclusive rough-cut of first in-depth documentary on WikiLeaks and the people behind it!

From summer 2010 until now, Swedish Television has been following the secretive media network WikiLeaks and its enigmatic Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange.

Reporters Jesper Huor and Bosse Lindquist have traveled to key countries where WikiLeaks operates, interviewing top members, such as Assange, new Spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson, as well as people like Daniel Domscheit-Berg who now is starting his own version - Openleaks.org!

Where is the secretive organization heading? Stronger than ever, or broken by the US? Who is Assange: champion of freedom, spy or rapist? What are his objectives? What are the consequences for the internet?"

© svt
To date, the video has had 134,904 views.
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Further Reading



Photo: Wikileaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange arrives at Westminster magistrates court inside a prison van with tinted windows. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Source: Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/15/1
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In Kenya, Bloggers React To WikiLeaks Cables
by Global Voices for Global Voices December 15, 2010
http://www.groundreport.com/World/In-Kenya-Bloggers-React-To-WikiLeaks-Cables/2932089
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  1. Zimbabwe: Regime Change - Unmasking Franchise Owners- AllAfrica.com
    Julian Assange: Courageous Hero or Terrorist?- FinalCall.com News
    Aljazeera.net - UPI.com
    all 7895 news articles »
  2. WikiLeaks confirms Russian tanks aboard hijacked ship were bound ...


    Herald Scotland - 4 days ago
    Washington encouraged the delivery of weapons to South Sudan even though it was the main guarantor of the 2005 peace agreement. The WikiLeaks revelations ...
    Leaked Cables Detail Kenya's Role in Arming South Sudan- Voice of America
    Cables Suggest U.S. Knew Of Sudan Arms Shipments- NPR
    Leaked cables claim Kenya sent tanks to South Sudan- Daily Nation
    GlobalPost - Safety at Sea
    all 258 news articles »

  3. WikiLeaks, Rashaida and Egypt


    Awate - Burhan Ali - 1 day ago
    WikiLeaks cables concerning Eritrea and its ruling ... My trip which started from Asmera took us a month to reach Sudan. ...
  4. Future crimes: Are WikiLeaks, piracy and malware related?


    SC Magazine US - 1 day ago
    Now, the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks (love em or hate em) definitively show ....Hypothetically, if one were looking for friends of Sudan with ...
  5. Yemen key transit hub for Hamas arms: leaked memos


    AFP - Paul Handley - 7 Dec 2010
    ... arms flowing to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the Gaza Strip via Sudan, according to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks on Tuesday. ...
    US used Israel intelligence to stifle arms trade: WikiLeaks- The Hindu
    US works to stop arms flow to Islamists - paper- Reuters Africa
    WikiLeaks: US Worked Discreetly to Block Supply of Iranian, Syrian ...- Naharnet
    The Israel Project (press release)
    all 49 news articles »


  6. What Raila knew about Sudan weapons


    The Standard - Biketi Kikechi - 6 days ago
    WikiLeaks cables claim Ranneberger wrote saying he discussed the tank ... told him the Government was committed to assisting the South Sudan and that there ...
    WikiLeaks reveals political plots after 2007 poll- Capital FM
    US cable: Kenya risks new violence without reforms- Bloomberg
    AllAfrica.com
    all 278 news articles »


  7. Sudanese voters in Nashville may give their war-torn homeland its ...


    Nashville Scene - Brantley Hargrove - 2 hours ago
    The vote will determine whether South Sudan, their former home, .... Among the diplomatic cables recently released by WikiLeaks was a notice that a shipment ...
    South Sudan is subjected into Big Brother USA bullying- Sudan Tribune
    Uncertainty abounds as southern Sudan prepares to vote- Montreal Gazette
    Memphis Commercial Appeal
    all 234 news articles »

  8. Wikileaks reveals Egypt Nile fear


    BBC News - Will Ross - 3 Dec 2010
    Cairo's Almasry Alyoum newspaper published the cable, one of thousands being released by Wikileaks. Southern Sudan is due to vote in a referendum on ...
    Egypt wanted Sudan referendum delayed- Bikya Masr
    EXCLUSIVE: Egypt requested delay for Sudan referendum- Borglobe
    Egypt says south Sudan secession looks inevitable- Reuters Africa
    Sudan Tribune - Middle East Online
    all 202 news articles »

  9. Foreign relations: Objectives of 'crucial state' remain frustrated


    Financial Times - Heba Saleh - 22 hours ago
    In keeping with Egyptian policy favouring a united Sudan is the revelation that Cairo asked the US in... On other issues, WikiLeaks is even more prosaic. ...
  10. WikiLeaks: Should the US recall Ranneberger?


    The Standard - 2 days ago
    QUESTION: Following the WikiLeaks reports should US envoy Michael ... which has been pushing for peace in Southern Sudan has on the other hand been ...

Thursday 9 December 2010

Kenya: Wiki-leaked cables claim nation sent tanks to South Sudan

Kenya: Wiki-leaked cables claim nation sent tanks to South Sudan
Source: The Nation (Kenya) - Reprinted at www.afrika.no
Date: Thursday, 09 December 2010
Nairobi (Kenya) — The mystery surrounding Russian-made tanks that the government denied were destined for South Sudan last year has been unravelled by a secret diplomatic cable.

A 2009 cable released by whistleblowing site WikiLeaks says a senior State Department official produced satellite images that appeared to show that the tanks unloaded in Kenya were trans-shipped to South Sudan.

The evidence contradicted claims by Kenyan officials that the hardware imported from Ukraine was intended for the Kenyan military.

A bill of lading and manifest of the hijacked MV Faina, which was seen by the Nation when the ship was released by pirates showed that its cargo consisted of more than 812 tonnes of ammunition in addition to 33 T-72 tanks from Ukraine.

Other weapons on the ship included unpacked spare parts for the T-72 tanks, Soviet-made anti-aircraft guns and rocket propelled grenades.

The Chief of General Staff, Gen Jeremiah Kianga, laid claim to the cargo insisting that the tanks and assorted arms belonged to the Kenyan military after pirates released the vessel they had captured off the coast of Somalia after ransom was reportedly paid.

However, satellite photos released by Wikileaks show that the T-72 tanks' actual destination was in South Sudan. The photos, the cable says, were presented by a US deputy assistant secretary of state, Vann Van Diepen, during talks in the Ukrainian capital in September 2009.

The Ukrainian side is said in the document to have repeatedly insisted at the talks that the weapons were intended for the government of Kenya.

The Ukrainians stuck to that position even when Mr Van Diepen presented a copy of a contract that listed the actual recipient as the government of South Sudan.

A Ukrainian official "questioned the authenticity of the contract, and asked if the US had any better evidence," states the cable marked "secret."

The document dated November 9, 2009, was published on the website of London's Guardian on Monday but a search of WikiLeaks' own site on Tuesday did not reveal a link to the cable.

"Van Diepen, regretting that the GOU [government of Ukraine] had forced him to do so, showed the Ukrainians cleared satellite imagery of T-72 tanks unloaded in Kenya, transferred to railyards for onward shipment, and finally in South Sudan," the Guardian's version of the cable states. "This led to a commotion on the Ukrainian side."

Mr Van Diepen then warned that "there was nothing for Ukraine to gain from lying and a lot to lose."

He told the Ukrainians that the US would have to consider imposing sanctions as a result of the arms transfer to South Sudan in violation of international agreements. "A factor in US deliberations would be whether the GOU told the truth," the document added.

The Ukrainian side still "asserted that Ukraine only had a relationship with Kenya, and did not have a relationship with South Sudan," the cable continued. "Ukraine could not be held responsible for the actions of a third country."

The Ukrainians however did promise to "study this situation in the light of a partner relationship so that the US knows that Ukraine is a reliable partner," the cable said.

The document gives no indication of whether the United States raised the matter with the Kenyan government. Such a discussion might be recounted in US Nairobi embassy cables that WikiLeaks indicates it has obtained but has not yet released.

A ship carrying the weapons reached Mombasa in February 2009 after a $3.2 million ransom was paid to Somali pirates who had hijacked it five months earlier.

Source: The Nation (Kenya)
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WikiLeaks documents roil Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa

Christian Science Monitor - Scott Baldauf - ‎53 minutes ago‎
Embarrassing US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks have put leaders in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa in the hot seat. View of the WikiLeaks homepage ...

US 'aware of' S Sudan arms deal

BBC News - ‎1 hour ago‎
The US government has been aware of Kenyan arms shipments to Southern Sudan for years, the latest diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks reveal. ...

Pirates' Catch Exposed Route of Arms in a Tense Sudan

New York Times - Jeffrey Gettleman, Michael R. Gordon - ‎7 hours ago‎
The Faina was escorted into the port of Mombasa, Kenya, in February 2009 after Somali pirates were paid $3.2 million. Its cargo included 32 Soviet-era tanks ...

How US raised storm over Sudan tankers

Capital FM - Michael Mumo, Judie Kaberia - ‎Dec 8, 2010‎
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 8 - The purchase of military equipment from Ukraine caused a storm from the American government, ...

A Discreet Deal for the War in Sudan

Spiegel Online - Horand Knaup - ‎37 minutes ago‎
AP US dispatches have cleared up one of the most baffling weapons affairs of the recent past. In 2008, pirates hijacked a ship full of tanks ...

Wikileaks: Raila's secret list

The Standard - Cyrus Ombati - ‎4 hours ago‎
Cables released by whistle-blower Julian Assange revealed the names of people Prime Minister Raila Odinga wanted appointed in top Government ...

Wikileaks: US incensed by Ukraine's arms exports

RIA Novosti - Gary Hershorn - ‎20 hours ago‎
The United States is fighting a constant battle to stop the flow of arms from Ukraine and other East European countries to terrorist in the Middle East, ...

WikiLeaks: US official accuses Ukraine of lying about arms sales to Sudan

Kyiv Post - ‎21 hours ago‎
The US had satellite imagery that proved Ukraine lied about shipping arms to South Sudan. AP The US had satellite imagery that proved Ukraine lied about ...

Sudan: Leaked Cables Claim Nation Sent Tanks to South Sudan

AllAfrica.com - Kevin Kelly, Patrick Mayoyo - ‎Dec 7, 2010‎
Nairobi — The mystery surrounding Russian-made tanks that the government denied were destined for South Sudan last year has been unravelled by a secret ...

New York Times: Pirates' catch exposed route of arms in Sudan conflict

Kyiv Post - ‎8 hours ago‎
KENYA, Mombasa : A Kenyan military officer stands guard over Soviet made T-72 tanks at Mombasa port which have just been offloaded from the MV faina ship on ...

Thursday 18 November 2010

Kenya's ICJ moves to court to seek Bashir’s arrest

NOTE to self for future reference. Weird timing on ICJ's part. Who is behind it and why? Today, this blog's parent site Sudan Watch has received quite a few visitors searching for news re tanks shipped by MV Faina. Check out Sudan Watch, 19 July 2009 - MV Faina cargo: 100 tanks were ordered by Government of South Sudan - and, at the end of the story, click on FAINA label to view a series of news reports filed 02 October 2008 - 19 February 2010.
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Kenya's ICJ moves to court to seek Bashir's arrest
Source: The East African - www.theeastafrican.co.ke
Author: Jillo Kadida
Date: Thursday, 18 November 2010 at 18:44


Photo: President Al Bashir arrives for the promulgation of Kenya's new constitution at Uhuru Park, Nairobi on August 27, 2010. His visit sparked outrage among Kenyan leaders and the international community. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI

The Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists has moved to court seeking a warrant of arrest against Sudan president Omar Al Bashir.

The commission filed a case at the High Court in Nairobi yesterday seeking a provisional arrest warrant against Al Bashir.

Mr Al Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide crimes committed in Sudan. The court also issued two warrants of arrest which have never been effected.

The jurists’ organization says Al Bashir is likely to visit Kenya in November or near future and his presence in the country would be a violation of the law.

ICJ also wants the court to order Ministry of Internal Security to effect the arrest warrant when Al Bashir sets foot in Kenya.

The ICJ Kenyan Chapter blames the Kenya Government for failing to arrest Al Bashir when he visited Kenya on August 27 2010 during the promulgation of the new constitution.

The organization says the Government in utter disregard of its obligation under international law failed to arrest Al Bashir despite the existence of two warrants of arrest issued by ICC.

Last month President Al Bashir was expected to visit Kenya to attend the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) meeting but this was moved at the last minute following fears that he might be arrested.

The meeting was transferred to African Union headquarters in Ethiopia following a letter from the ICC to the government of Kenya.

In its letter the court called for arrest of Mr Al Bashir in the event he turned up for the conference.

A statement from the ICC Registrar, Ms Silvana Arbia, had said: “The International Criminal Court requested the Republic of Kenya to inform the Chamber, no later than 29 October, about any problem which would impede or prevent the arrest and surrender of Omar al-Bashir in the event that he visits the country on 30 October, 2010.”

Yesterday after hearing the case filed by ICJ High Court Judge, Nicholas Ombija directed that the suit papers be served on the Attorney General.

The parties will appear before him for hearing next Tuesday.

Monday 13 October 2008

Kenya and Sudan - The mystery tanks (The Economist)

Oct 9 2008 NAIROBI
From The Economist print edition
Who are the real owners of the tanks nabbed by Somali pirates?

THE publication of the manifest of a Ukrainian ship recently captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia is embarrassing Kenya’s government. It apparently shows that MV Faina’s cargo of 33 T-72 Soviet-era tanks and other weapons was consigned to Kenya’s defence ministry on behalf of the government of south Sudan.

Much will turn on the real meaning of the acronym GOSS, evident as the buyer on the manifest. Most people take this to mean the Government of South Sudan, meaning that the tanks were destined for that region. The Kenyans say it means the Kenyan army’s own General Ordinance Supplies and Security, proving that the tanks were going to Kenya. But that does not necessarily mean they were not going on to south Sudan. Kenya has no history of using Soviet equipment. A Russian source said that the only Russian arms Kenya has bought in recent years have been Kalashnikov rifles for game rangers.

The head of the Kenyan parliament’s defence and foreign relations committee, Adan Keynan, is troubled. He plans to haul Kenya’s defence minister, Yusuf Haji, before his committee, along with the previous one, Njenga Karume, who may have signed off on the shipment. Mr Keynan demands a thorough investigation, including a trip to Ukraine, to save Kenya’s name.

According to reports in Jane’s Defence Weekly and others, another 100 T-72 and T-55 tanks may have been shipped to south Sudan through the Kenyan port of Mombasa in the past year. That raises further questions. Have all suspicious arms shipments reached south Sudan or have some been stockpiled in Kenya? Who paid for them? Kenya’s vice-president, Kalonzo Musyoka, has said the tanks on the Faina are Kenya’s property, since the Kenyan taxpayer paid for them. If true, and the tanks still go through to south Sudan, that would turn Kenya from being the midwife of the peace agreement in Sudan in 2005 into the would-be midwife of an independent and heavily-armed south Sudan, ready to go back to war with Sudan’s Islamist government in Khartoum, should it try to stop the south’s secession after a promised referendum in 2011. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which monitors arms sales in the region, says the shipment undermines Kenya’s position as a sponsor of an arms-trade treaty for Sudan.

What is clear is that if the Faina ever reaches Mombasa, Kenya will have to take delivery, very publicly, of the T-72s. By mid-week, the ship was still surrounded by American warships and the pirates were still holding out for $20m.

The Sudanese government of President Omar al-Bashir has so far said very little about the tanks. He may be loth to discuss other equally dodgy shipments of higher-quality arms to his own side. Southern politicians have been quite open in their desire to build up a strong army, despite the provisions against rearming contained in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005, in case they have to return to war with the north. The two sides fought in the oil-rich border region of Abyei earlier this year. And southern leaders have been criticised for spending so much of their relatively small direct income, mostly from oil, on arms rather than schools or clinics.