Diplomats spoke of "fatal" Cuban economy in cable
Reporting by Jeff Franks; Editing by Bill Trott
Reuters, December 10, 2010 - 8:13am EST
HAVANA - Diplomats from several countries said Cuba's economic situation could become "fatal" within two to three years while a Chinese diplomat groused that discussing reforms with the Cuban government was "a real headache," according to a purported U.S. cable obtained by WikiLeaks and published on Thursday by the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
The cable was written in February, before the communist-led government announced significant economic reforms in September.
It chronicled a breakfast meeting hosted by a U.S. diplomat for economic and commercial counselors from China, Spain, Canada, Brazil, Italy, France and Japan.
The cable talked generally abut Cuba's economic problems, which forced the government led by President Raul Castro to slash imports, stop payments to many creditors and freeze foreign business accounts in Cuban banks.
"All diplomats agreed that Cuba could survive this year without substantial policy changes but the financial situation could become fatal within two to three years," said the cable, classified confidential and apparently authored by Jonathan Farrar, chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.
The interests section substitutes for an embassy because the United States and Cuba, at ideological loggerheads for five decades, have no official diplomatic relations.
"Italy said (Cuban government) contacts had suggested Cuba would become insolvent as early as 2011," the cable said.
"Even China admitted to having problems getting paid on time and complained about Cuban requests to extend credit terms from one to four years," the cable said. "France and Canada responded with 'welcome to the club.'"
It said China's representative complained "in visible exasperation" that Cuba insists on keeping majority control of all joint ventures.
The group was described as pessimistic about the possibility of "meaningful" economic reform, with the Brazilian saying it had the potential of being politically "destabilizing."
"Any discussions around Chinese-style reforms, particularly regarding foreign investment, have been difficult and 'a real headache,' according to the Chinese," the cable said.
REFORMS UNDER WAY
The Cuban government has since undertaken reforms to boost the island's troubled economy by expanding the private sector and reducing the state's role, while maintaining the socialist system installed after Fidel Castro took power in a 1959 revolution.
Its cash crunch also appears to have eased as more creditors are getting paid and more bank accounts unfrozen.
The diplomats complained about the lack of access to government officials and said the military was increasingly in control of the economy.
"The French argued that the military is seizing all core economic activities of the state," the cable said.
It said military engineers were capable of running day-to-day operations but "do not have the vision to enact reforms or lead the country out of the economic mess of centralized state planning."
Cuba was concerned about its reliance on Venezuela, its top trading partner and oil provider, because the South American oil giant, led by socialist President Hugo Chavez, "is in flames," the French representative was quoted as saying.
The cable said many Cuban government officials had "reconciled themselves to the inevitability of better relations with the United States."
But it said Cuba's direction "remains muddled and unclear, in great measure because its leaders are paralyzed by fear that reforms will loosen the tight grip on power that they have held for over 50 years."
The cable said the Cuban people were "accustomed to tough times and will respond to future belt-tightening with similar endurance."
sábado, 11 de dezembro de 2010
sexta-feira, 10 de dezembro de 2010
Wiki-Land: por qual pais os EUA nao se interessam?
Um pequeno tour du monde das revelações wikileakadas de telegramas americanos. Algo supreendente? Provavelmente não...
Paulo Roberto de Almeida
After 12 days of WikiLeaks cables, the world looks on US with new eyes
Ian Black, Angelique Chrisafis, Ian Traynor, Jon Boone, Declan Walsh, Tom Parfitt, Ewen MacAskill, Tom Phillips, Xan Rice, Jason Burke and John Hooper
The Guardian, Friday 10 December 2010
Reaction across the globe to the leaked US embassy cables has ranged from anger and bitterness to extreme indifference
South America
Brazil
President Lula says he is to register his protest at Assange's arrest on his blog. "This chap was only publishing something he read," he said. "And if he read it, it is because somebody wrote it. The guilty one is not the publisher, it is the person who wrote [these things]. Blame the person who wrote this nonsense because there would be no scandal if they hadn't." Many leaks relate to the security situation in Rio de Janeiro. A 2009 cable warned that pre-Olympic attempts to expel drug traffickers from some of the city's most violent favelas could resemble "the battles in Fallujah more than a conventional urban police operation".
Argentina
In Argentina the Wikileaks revelations have focused on apparent US concern about a new invasion of the Falklands islands and over president Cristina Kirchner mental health. In one cable Hillary Clintonmused over whether the current occupant of the Casa Rosada was "taking any medications."
"How do Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's emotions affect her decision-making and how does she calm down when distressed?" one cable asked diplomats in the Argentine capital.
The English-language Buenos Aires Herald, however, pointed out that "the snickering about the President's mental health comes at a time [when] she is perceived by much of the public, including those who oppose her, as having shown tremendous strength immediately after her husband's death."
Venezuela
Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez, has called on Hillary Clinton to resign in the wake of "all of this spying and delinquency in the State Department".
"Look at how they treat the leaders of powerful countries," Chavez told state TV channel Telesur, describing the cables as proof of the "dirty war of Yankee embassies in the whole world".
"Look how they are mistreating this great friend of ours, Vladimir Putin. What a lack of respect!"
Ecuador and Bolivia
The Ecuadorian government has been Wikileaks' most vocal supporter in the region, offering the under-fire Julian Assange residency "without any conditions". Bolivia has also expressed its irritation at its portrayal in the US diplomatic cables. The country's vice-president, Alvaro Garcia Linera, this week posted Bolivia-focused Wikileaks cables, in full, on his official website in response to what he called "insults" and "third rate espionage".
US authorities have been lampooned by much of the Bolivian press.
Juan José Toro Montoya, a columnist for the Cochabamba newspaper Los Tiempos newspaper described the accusations against Wikileaks' founder as "laughable".
"Julian Assange may be under arrest but he has been transformed into a hero and will go down in history as being the first human being to massively reveal the dirty-tricks of government," he wrote yesterday.
Middle East
Iran
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the Wikileaks revelations as "psychological warfare." Iran's foreign ministry spokesman thundered: "The enemies of the Islamic world are pursuing a project of Iranophobia and disunity. This project only protects the interests of the Zionist regime and its supporters." Still, the documents will reinforce the regime's world view by underlining the huge effort being made by the US to contain Iran by applying pressure for UN sanctions over its nuclear programme or stopping arms deliveries to groups like Hamas and Hizbullah. It will be harder to maintain the pretence of good relations with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states because of exposure of their fear of Tehran. Iran remains defiant and is not as isolated as Washington would like. It is influential in Iraq and has good relations with Turkey. It is clear that Barack Obama's efforts to reach out to it have failed, with some arguing he was never serious about engagement. The status quo looks volatile and threatening.
Israel
Israel has been largely untroubled by because US views on key Middle Eastern issues especially on Iran, Syria and Lebanon, are so close to its own. "Israel is not the centre of international attention," said Binyamin Netanyahu. "Normally, there's a gap between what is said publicly and what is said privately, but in this case, the gap is not large." The most significant revelation was that Israel believes that beyond a certain point attacking Iran would cause too much "collateral damage."Israel can be seen maintaining discreet contact with Gulf states and have an intriguing intelligence link to Saudi Arabia. It suits Israel that the Palestinian issue and Jewish settlements in the occupied territories do not feature prominently. The Palestinian Authority denied suggestions it acquiesced in Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's only public comment on the revelations was to say "they do not concern us" despite the sensational exposure of comments made by King Abdullah about attacking Iran "to cut off the head of the snake." It will be unhappy about US complaints that it remains a source of funding for the Taliban and other extremists. It may be pleased its counter-terrorist efforts against al-Qaida, at home and in neighbouring Yemen, have been given positive exposure. There is little evidence of US pressure over human rights and democracy.
Lebanon
Ever volatile Lebanon has been shaken by documents showing close links between the pro-western government and the US. The most damaging revelation described its defence minister offering advice on how Israel could defeat Hezbollah if a new war erupted. But Elias Murr complained that the cables were "inaccurate" and taken out of context. Tensions are already high because of expectations Hizbullah members will be indicted for the 2005 murder of Rafiq al-Hariri. Al-Akhbar, a leftist and pro-Hizbullah paper that has published leaks of the leaks about the Arab world, has come under cyber attack.
Syria
Syria has not responded officially to disclosures that it is the subject of intense US efforts to stop deliveries of weapons to Hezbollah. Syrians say they are struck by the absence of embarrassing information about Israel. Sami Moubayed, an influential commentator, wrote: "Perhaps WikiLeaks will one day tell us, for example, what the Israelis are hiding about the pre-Bush era." Damascus insists it only supports resistance to Israel and blames it for ramping up regional tensions. Ample evidence of American strategy to weaken the alliance between Damascus and Tehran, but there is no sign that it has worked.
Yemen
Yemen's government has faced embarrassing questions in parliament about evidence ministers lied about US air strikes against al-Qaida targets. Cables revealed President Ali Abdullah Saleh is worried about being painted as an American pawn and restricts counter-terrorist cooperation even as Washington presses for more determined action. Opposition MP Mansur al Zindani complained of a "powerful blow to parliament and the public." There are fears the revelations could help al-Qaida win new recruits in the Arab world's poorest country.
Libya
Muammar Gaddafi praised WikiLeaks for exposing US "hypocrisy." The whistleblowing website has "proved America is not what it has led allies and friends to believe it to be." There was no comment on threats against Britain if the Lockerbie bomber, Abdel-Basset al-Megrahi, died in prison in Scotland.
Egypt
Revelations about Egypt – some leaked to the independent newspaper al-Masry al-Youm — have been dismissed by Cairo as containing "nothing new." But they include evidence of its fears about Sudan breaking up, President Mubarak's profound hostility to Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, and bleak US assessments of future prospects for democracy, including the prediction that Mubarak, now 82, will stand for yet another term next year. The recent parliamentary elections, widely dismissed as a charade, tend to confirm US views.
Tunisia
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali will be furious at cables describing high-level corruption, a sclerotic regime, and deep hatred of his wife and her family. Deeply unflattering reports from the US ambassador in Tunis make no bones about the state of the small Maghreb country, widely considered one of the most repressive in North Africa. No surprise that Tunisia blocked the website of Beirut's al-Akhbar, which published some of the documents.
Turkey
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted furiously to US diplomatic cables that suggested he was a corrupt closet Islamist. As Turkey heads for elections next year, secular Republican opponents may try to exploit his evident discomfort.
The cables highlighted three principal issues. Erdogan's personal probity – he was reported to have eight secret Swiss bank accounts; the supposed Islamist agenda of the ruling AKP party; and Turkey's perceived drift away from the western alliance and closer embrace of countries such as Syria and Iran.
Erdogan's response was both to dismiss the cables as tittle-tattle, and to conjure conspiracy theories."The un-serious cables of American diplomats, formed from gossip, magazines, allegations and slander are spreading worldwide via the internet," Erdogan said. "Are there disclosures of state secrets, or is there another aim?" he askedd. "… Is it carrying out a veiled, dark propaganda? Are there efforts to affect, manipulate relations between certain countries?"
Europe
Russia
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave the sharpest response to the WikiLeaks cables in which he was protrayed as Batman to Dmitry Medvedev's Robin. "Slander", he called it. The embassy cables portray Russia as a corrupt kleptocracy where politicians and criminals were inextricably linked. Medvedev has said that the cables "show a full measure of cynicism" in US foreign policy making. But he suggested the leaks would not damage relations between Moscow and WashingtonSergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, claimed to be surprised that "some petty thieves running around the Internet" are causing such a sensation. In reality, the cables have caused lasting damage in Russia, playing to the deep mistrust of US intentions that imbues Kremlin policy making.
Poland
The cables revealed a battle of wits and mutual dissembling between Warsaw and Washington over US military aid to Poland, missile defence, and attitudes towards Russia. While the Poles welcomed secret Nato plans for the defence of the three Baltic states, they worried the new plan would dilute Nato security guarantees for Poland.
The disclosures appear to be sparking a sober re-assessment in Warsaw of the closeness of the relationship with Washington.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk sounded bitter and disenchanted on Tuesday after the Guardian published material on Poland.
"We have a really serious problem," he said. "Not with image, as some countries do, and not reputation, like the US does. It's a problem of being stripped of illusions about the nature of relations between countries, including such close allies as Poland and the US."
Italy
La Repubblica, one of Italy's best-selling dailies, on Wednesday carried the first in a series of articles examining the relationship between Silvio Berlusconi and Russia's prime minister, Vladimir Putin, in the light of claims reported by the US state department cables that the Italian leader was profiting from gas deals between their two countries.
Newspapers and other media have given extensive coverage to the WikiLeaks disclosures. Berlusconi, who has denied any financial interest in Italy's energy dealings, was also embarrassed by a cable that quoted him as referring to Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev as an "apprentice". He insisted he never said it.
But in a country where the prime minister cannot be forced to answer to parliament and where attention is now focussed mainly on two parliamentary censure motions that could topple the Berlusconi administration next week, the political fall-out has been limited. Pierluigi Bersani, the leader of Italy's biggest opposition group, the Democratic party, said the cables showed that "the prime minister, with his behaviour and political decisions, harms the reputation of Italy in the world."
But, for the most part, opposition politicians have heeded a warning from Berlusconi's foreign minister, Franco Frattini, not to exploit the cables for political purposes.
Austria
The cables show a rather withering US contempt for Austria and its leading politicians, with US diplomats complaining that Washington has little leverage in Vienna because the government there is barely interested in developing relations with the US. The social democratic chancellor, Werner Faymann, is described as a leader with scant interest in foreign affairs. The foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger, is preoccupied with promoting Austrian business. And Austria, constitutionally neutral and not in Nato, is criticised for resisting US pressure to send forces to Afghanistan.
Norbert Darabos, the defence minister, described the US criticism as "inexplicable", and said Austria would not increase its contribution to Afghanistan beyond the five policemen it has sent.
A leading Austrian Greens MP, Peter Pilz, proposed that the country should grant Julian Assange political asylum.
Kazakhstan
US cables described the peccadilloes of the Kazakh elite, including the 40-horse stable of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president, a private Elton John concert for a top politician and an extraordinary midnight dance by the prime minister at a nightclub called Chocolat. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, was at pains to privately apologise to several world leaders who were pilloried in the disclosures.
Turkmenistan
In perhaps the baldest character assassination of any world leader in the WikiLeaks cables, a US diplomat reported to Washington that president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan is seen as "vain, fastidious, vindictive, a micro-manager," a "practised liar" and "not a very bright guy". In keeping with the country's insular regime, the charge provoked little reaction.
Georgia
Disclosures about the Caucasus state were a mixed bag. As the New York Times noted, they showed US diplomats' catastrophic failure to recognise that Mikhail Saakashvili, the president, was planning to attack the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia in 2008. But they also concluded that before the conflict Russia had been "aggressively playing a high-stakes covert game" in an attempt to provoke Georgia into retaliation. Giga Bokeria, secretary of Georgia's national security council, toed Washington's line in his assessment of the WikiLeaks releases. "It is very cynical when one, under the guise of a martyr, fights against the greatest democracy [the US] using such prohibited methods," he said of Julian Assange, in televised comments.
Kyrgyzstan
Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, was the setting for Prince Andrew's infamous rant about geographically-challenged Americans and snooping "(expletive) journalists, especially from the National Guardian." At a meeting with the prince, Tatiana Gfoeller, the US ambassador to Bishkek, decided he was a victim of "neuralgic patriotism" whose behaviour "verged on the rude". Kyrgyzstan's leadership has been silent on that sharp assessment, while local media have been more interested in claims that China offered the country a $3bn (£1.9bn) aid package if it would close the Manas airbase, which the US uses to supply its troops in Afghanistan.
Moldova
According to the WikiLeaks documents, Moldova's then president, Vladimir Voronin, offered a $10m (£6.4m) bribe to a rival in 2009 in a desperate attempt to keep his communist government in power. A leading member of Voronin's party, Mark Tkachuk, told reporters the claims were "fairy tales" and "low-life gossip".
Africa
Kenya
It took just a few leaked words to create an outcry from the Kenyan government. In a teaser of what the cables from Nairobi would reveal, Der Spiegel said last week that US officials believed the country was a "swamp of corruption" — hardly a heretic view on the streets of Nairobi. Government spokesman Alfred Mutua immediately called a news conference to say the government was "surprised and shocked".
"If what is reported is true, it is totally malicious, and a total misrepresentation of our country and our leaders," he said.
He went on to say that foreign countries funding youth empowerment schemes in Kenya – a barely veiled reference to the US — were in fact trying to overthrow the government. The US ambassador to Nairobi, Michael Ranneberger, described Mutua's claims as "utterly ridiculous". The prime minister told parliament he welcomed the Wikileaks revelations.
'We now know what some of our friends think about us … it is helpful."
After the revelations on Thursday that the US ambassador believed rampant corruption could lead in renewed violence in the country, Kibaki's office released a statement defending his record.
"We wish to state that President Kibaki's record on reforms through out his career speaks for itself. ," it said.
Uganda
The authorities in Uganda were also riled. In response to claims that President Yoweri Museveni feared his plane being shot down on the orders of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the Ugandan foreign minister Sam Kutesa issued a statement yesterday (Thursday).
"While it is true that we hold discussions with the US government on regional and internationals issues, the contents of the alleged cables are grossly inaccurate and illogical. For example, if the Ugandan president perceived the threat to fly the international airspace, the solution would be for him to stay at home. Other leaders in the world have done so in the past."
But Museveni's spokesman Tamale Mirundi confirmed that other leaked cables referring to the president's concern about Sudan supporting the Lord's Resistance Army rebels a few years ago, and Eritrea being a regional threat, were in fact accurate.
Eritrea
Despite its president being described by US officials as an "unhinged dictator", there was no reaction from Eritrea to the leaked cables. There is also no free press in Eritrea.
Nigeria
Royal Dutch Shell said it was "absolutely untrue" that it had infiltrated every Nigerian ministry affecting its operations there. The company offered no further comment.
Zimbabwe
In an opinion piece in the state-run Herald newspaper, Reason Wafawarova focused on how the cables showed that Mugabe had defied US expectations of his demise from power. He also delighted in description of opposition leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai as a "flawed figure".
South Asia
Pakistan
The rich store of WikiLeaks revelations about Pakistan have monopolized headlines and the political agenda for over ten days. But some stories are considered too hot to touch. While cables exposing the foibles of Pakistan's civilian leaders triggered a media feeding frenzy, the press largely ignored revelations that cast the powerful military in a bad light, including its alleged support for Islamist extremist groups such as the Taliban. That left politicians struggling to bat off embarrassing allegations, such as the bearded religious firebrand seen cosying up to the American ambassador, President Asif Zardari's obsession with his death, or prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's secret support for CIA drone strikes.
"Don't trust WikiLeaks," Gilani told reporters in Kabul at the weekend, attempting to brush off the revelations as "the observations of junior diplomats". Beside him President Hamid Karzai, also tarred in the dispatches, nodded solemnly. Rarely have the sparring neighbours agreed so easily. Coverage of army chief General Ashfaq Kayani focused on revelations that he threatened to oust Zardari last year but held back because he "distrusted" opposition contender Nawaz Sharif. The army issued a statement that Kayani "holds all political leaders in esteem". But most reporters shied away from US intelligence assessments that the army under Kayani continues to support the Taliban and Mumbai attackers Lashkar-e-Taiba. "ISI extols the virtues of some Taliban elements" read one small headline that provided no other details; otherwise loquacious television anchors were largely silent on the matter. One exception was the new Express Tribune paper. "It has always been an open secret that the military acts as puppet master," said an editorial "Only now do we have confirmation of just how tenuous the hold of democracy in the country really is."
Pakistani conspiracy theorists insisted the cables had been deliberately leaked as part of a Washington plot to discredit the Muslim world; the Saudi ambassador described them as "a rapist's propaganda".
But for most Pakistanis, the cables simply confirmed how much influence the US wields over their military and civilian leaders. Several headlines referred to the "WikiLeaks shame"; former diplomat Asif Ezdi said they proved Pakistan had become "the world's biggest banana republic".
The judiciary, meanwhile, liked the cables. Dismissing an attempt to block their publication, High Court judge Sheikh Azmat Saeed, said that WikiLeaks "may cause trouble for some personalities" but would be "good for the progress of the nation in the long run."
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan the Wikileaks disclosure have been a source of endless fascination for the general public, with the country's journalists devoting hours of airtime to pouring over the cables. Among pundits debate has raged about the meaning of the revelations, and even whether they can be believed with some incredulous commentators refusing to accept that the world's most powerful country could ever lose so much confidential information. Some have even suggested it was a put up job by the Americans themselves.
But so far there have been no major political casualties, despite the deeply critical remarks of Hamid Karzai made by his own senior ministers and the US ambassador.
The Afghan president has publicly thrown his support behind Omar Zakhiwal, his finance minister who was quoted in cables describing his boss as "extremely weak man". But a cabinet reshuffle is expected after the new parliament is inaugurated.
Also thought to be vulnerable is Karl Eikenberry, the US ambassador who wrote at times despairing notes back to Washington about Karzai.
The Afghan and US governments have insisted their relationship remains strong but former US ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has publicly said Eikenberry's position is untenable.
Many believe there is now no chance that he will extend his soon to expire two year term, if he wanted to.
India
In India the reaction to WikiLeaks was initially muted or positive, though the revelations were covered by all sectors of the press, including the local language media. "The first lot of WikiLeaks documents paints a flattering picture of India as a reliable, trusted and respected power in a world that worries itself sick about neighbouring Pakistan," the Times of India newspaper said. Coverage focused on revelations from Pakistan and particularly about Islamabad's security services' relationship with local Islamic extremists. India's external affairs ministry refused to comment on the leak other than to stress its continuing "candid" dialogue with the United States. As the week has passed criticism, both of Western countries and of the leak, has built up, particularly as police in the UK moved to arrest the Wikileaks founder. "The way these governments have been going after Assange and his group raises the question whether what is commonly called the free world is really free," said the Mumbai-based newspaper Daily News Analysis. Others attacked those behind the leak. "There is a strong feeling that the sense of responsibility lacks," union law minister Veerappa Moily told The Guardian yesterday (Wednesday). "This just creates mutual misunderstanding. The trust is endangered by such leaks and that is a very unhealthy trend." Shashi Tharoor, former minister of state for external affairs, called the leaks "unethical and wrong".
"The confidentiality of government communications is the lifeblood of diplomatic comfort," Tharoor told a local reporter. "You do not effectively run a government if your own diplomats cannot report to their own capitals in utter candour." Other commentators however called for an Indian version of the leak, arguing that the Indian bureaucracy was one of the most opaque in the world and could only benefit from public scrutiny.
Bangladesh
Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have been on the front page of most newspapers in Bangladesh over the last week. The story has been of particular interest to the country's many students who thronged street tea stalls in Dhaka, the capital, to discuss "how WikiLeaks has shaken the US administration by revealing its confidential cables", according to one local journalist. Anis Pervez, an associate professor at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, said he had discussed the leaks in his classroom lecture on media ethics. "Every state has sovereignty and sometimes some information can create tension. Then again, there is a dilemma over how much information one should reveal to the public just because he or she has it," he said. One particularly cable alleging that the Islamic extremist group Lashkar-e-Toiba had established sleeper cells in Bangladesh hit headlines. "The information divulged on the WikiLeaks is creating an odd situation for many countries. We have not yet checked the documents found regarding Bangladesh," said Yafeash Osman, state minister for science and technology, said.
Nepal
In Nepal there has therefore been some disappointment that most of the 2,600 documents that were sent from the US Embassy in Kathmandu have not yet to be released. The leaks sparked frantic efforts by Nepali politicians as well as journalists to find out what revelations about the Himalayan nation could be expected with journalists offices in Kathmandu bombarded by calls from politicians and leaderships seeking tips on what might be coming. As elsewhere released cables have been scoured for elements of local interest. Documents suggesting that Maoist rebels had received Indian funding provoked an inevitably strongly worded reaction from Nepal's Maoist party. Other cables touching on the relations between regional giants China and India have also been minutely scrutinised.
Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, the leaks provoked a political and media storm as many focused on the island nation's controversial and bloody recent history. While one effectively accused President Mahinda Rajapaksa of being complicit in war crimes – a charge he denies – another described a diplomatic campaign by British former foreign secretary David Miliband to champion aid and human rights during the Sri Lankan humanitarian crisis last year as largely driven by domestic political calculations. Media reactions have varied. Newspapers loyal to the government have covered the various allegations made in the cables but have particularly focused on material that is embarrassing to the US or the UK The campaigning Sunday Leader however published a call to journalistic arms: "As media acquired books, the powerful enacted bans. As media developed newspapers, the powerful found ways to seal them in courts or seduce them with access and wealth. Through all this one force, however, is constant. You can't keep a good story down. You can't stop the thirst for justice, you can only mask it for a while. This is a lesson that WikiLeaks is teaching the world, and we hope that it will reach Sri Lankan ears."
Asia Pacific
China
China has been tight-lipped. It has also been increasingly keen to stop others from having their say, deleting articles and discussions about the cables. It called the contents of the diplomatic memos "absurd" but has otherwise refused to comment on the information they contain, such as reports of official frustration with North Korea and a source's claim that a senior official was behind the attack on Google.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said yesterday that Beijing hoped the emergence of the cables would not affect relations with Washington.
Censorship has not stopped some people from reading about the cables on overseas websites.
"Reading [about] China and Google, I want to say: WikiLeaks rocks!" one wrote on a microblog service of the popular portal Sina earlier this week.
Another argued: "What Wikileaks says about China must be a slander from the US. What do you think? The US government hates Wikileaks too? It must be a conspiracy."
China Digital Times, which monitors censorship, believes the Central Propaganda Bureau issued an order telling websites not to issue further reports on the cables, although some have reported on Julian Assange's arrest.
Australia
The role of Assange, the country's prodigal son, has generated the most coverage and debate. Referring to him as the 'Ned Kelly of the digital age', Bryce Lowry said: "Assange is a cyber bushranger: a renegade taunter of authority and inspiration to many who marvel at his daring to challenge the status quo." Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the publication of the cables is illegal, and Assange's actions are "grossly irresponsible". She has made it clear the Australian government will offer him no support although the Australian consulate in the UK has offered him access to their services.
The cables themselves reveal an unflattering view of former prime minister – now foreign minister – Kevin Rudd. He was an abrasive, impulsive ''control freak'' who presided over a series of foreign policy blunders. Another cable referenced how Rudd angered the US by detailing a private conversation he had with Bush which included the moment he was "stunned to hear Bush say, 'What's the G20?'"
Rudd retaliated this week. "Mr Assange is not himself responsible for the unauthorised release of 250,000 documents from the US diplomatic communications network. "The Americans are responsible for that," he said.
Paulo Roberto de Almeida
After 12 days of WikiLeaks cables, the world looks on US with new eyes
Ian Black, Angelique Chrisafis, Ian Traynor, Jon Boone, Declan Walsh, Tom Parfitt, Ewen MacAskill, Tom Phillips, Xan Rice, Jason Burke and John Hooper
The Guardian, Friday 10 December 2010
Reaction across the globe to the leaked US embassy cables has ranged from anger and bitterness to extreme indifference
South America
Brazil
President Lula says he is to register his protest at Assange's arrest on his blog. "This chap was only publishing something he read," he said. "And if he read it, it is because somebody wrote it. The guilty one is not the publisher, it is the person who wrote [these things]. Blame the person who wrote this nonsense because there would be no scandal if they hadn't." Many leaks relate to the security situation in Rio de Janeiro. A 2009 cable warned that pre-Olympic attempts to expel drug traffickers from some of the city's most violent favelas could resemble "the battles in Fallujah more than a conventional urban police operation".
Argentina
In Argentina the Wikileaks revelations have focused on apparent US concern about a new invasion of the Falklands islands and over president Cristina Kirchner mental health. In one cable Hillary Clintonmused over whether the current occupant of the Casa Rosada was "taking any medications."
"How do Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's emotions affect her decision-making and how does she calm down when distressed?" one cable asked diplomats in the Argentine capital.
The English-language Buenos Aires Herald, however, pointed out that "the snickering about the President's mental health comes at a time [when] she is perceived by much of the public, including those who oppose her, as having shown tremendous strength immediately after her husband's death."
Venezuela
Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez, has called on Hillary Clinton to resign in the wake of "all of this spying and delinquency in the State Department".
"Look at how they treat the leaders of powerful countries," Chavez told state TV channel Telesur, describing the cables as proof of the "dirty war of Yankee embassies in the whole world".
"Look how they are mistreating this great friend of ours, Vladimir Putin. What a lack of respect!"
Ecuador and Bolivia
The Ecuadorian government has been Wikileaks' most vocal supporter in the region, offering the under-fire Julian Assange residency "without any conditions". Bolivia has also expressed its irritation at its portrayal in the US diplomatic cables. The country's vice-president, Alvaro Garcia Linera, this week posted Bolivia-focused Wikileaks cables, in full, on his official website in response to what he called "insults" and "third rate espionage".
US authorities have been lampooned by much of the Bolivian press.
Juan José Toro Montoya, a columnist for the Cochabamba newspaper Los Tiempos newspaper described the accusations against Wikileaks' founder as "laughable".
"Julian Assange may be under arrest but he has been transformed into a hero and will go down in history as being the first human being to massively reveal the dirty-tricks of government," he wrote yesterday.
Middle East
Iran
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the Wikileaks revelations as "psychological warfare." Iran's foreign ministry spokesman thundered: "The enemies of the Islamic world are pursuing a project of Iranophobia and disunity. This project only protects the interests of the Zionist regime and its supporters." Still, the documents will reinforce the regime's world view by underlining the huge effort being made by the US to contain Iran by applying pressure for UN sanctions over its nuclear programme or stopping arms deliveries to groups like Hamas and Hizbullah. It will be harder to maintain the pretence of good relations with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states because of exposure of their fear of Tehran. Iran remains defiant and is not as isolated as Washington would like. It is influential in Iraq and has good relations with Turkey. It is clear that Barack Obama's efforts to reach out to it have failed, with some arguing he was never serious about engagement. The status quo looks volatile and threatening.
Israel
Israel has been largely untroubled by because US views on key Middle Eastern issues especially on Iran, Syria and Lebanon, are so close to its own. "Israel is not the centre of international attention," said Binyamin Netanyahu. "Normally, there's a gap between what is said publicly and what is said privately, but in this case, the gap is not large." The most significant revelation was that Israel believes that beyond a certain point attacking Iran would cause too much "collateral damage."Israel can be seen maintaining discreet contact with Gulf states and have an intriguing intelligence link to Saudi Arabia. It suits Israel that the Palestinian issue and Jewish settlements in the occupied territories do not feature prominently. The Palestinian Authority denied suggestions it acquiesced in Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's only public comment on the revelations was to say "they do not concern us" despite the sensational exposure of comments made by King Abdullah about attacking Iran "to cut off the head of the snake." It will be unhappy about US complaints that it remains a source of funding for the Taliban and other extremists. It may be pleased its counter-terrorist efforts against al-Qaida, at home and in neighbouring Yemen, have been given positive exposure. There is little evidence of US pressure over human rights and democracy.
Lebanon
Ever volatile Lebanon has been shaken by documents showing close links between the pro-western government and the US. The most damaging revelation described its defence minister offering advice on how Israel could defeat Hezbollah if a new war erupted. But Elias Murr complained that the cables were "inaccurate" and taken out of context. Tensions are already high because of expectations Hizbullah members will be indicted for the 2005 murder of Rafiq al-Hariri. Al-Akhbar, a leftist and pro-Hizbullah paper that has published leaks of the leaks about the Arab world, has come under cyber attack.
Syria
Syria has not responded officially to disclosures that it is the subject of intense US efforts to stop deliveries of weapons to Hezbollah. Syrians say they are struck by the absence of embarrassing information about Israel. Sami Moubayed, an influential commentator, wrote: "Perhaps WikiLeaks will one day tell us, for example, what the Israelis are hiding about the pre-Bush era." Damascus insists it only supports resistance to Israel and blames it for ramping up regional tensions. Ample evidence of American strategy to weaken the alliance between Damascus and Tehran, but there is no sign that it has worked.
Yemen
Yemen's government has faced embarrassing questions in parliament about evidence ministers lied about US air strikes against al-Qaida targets. Cables revealed President Ali Abdullah Saleh is worried about being painted as an American pawn and restricts counter-terrorist cooperation even as Washington presses for more determined action. Opposition MP Mansur al Zindani complained of a "powerful blow to parliament and the public." There are fears the revelations could help al-Qaida win new recruits in the Arab world's poorest country.
Libya
Muammar Gaddafi praised WikiLeaks for exposing US "hypocrisy." The whistleblowing website has "proved America is not what it has led allies and friends to believe it to be." There was no comment on threats against Britain if the Lockerbie bomber, Abdel-Basset al-Megrahi, died in prison in Scotland.
Egypt
Revelations about Egypt – some leaked to the independent newspaper al-Masry al-Youm — have been dismissed by Cairo as containing "nothing new." But they include evidence of its fears about Sudan breaking up, President Mubarak's profound hostility to Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, and bleak US assessments of future prospects for democracy, including the prediction that Mubarak, now 82, will stand for yet another term next year. The recent parliamentary elections, widely dismissed as a charade, tend to confirm US views.
Tunisia
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali will be furious at cables describing high-level corruption, a sclerotic regime, and deep hatred of his wife and her family. Deeply unflattering reports from the US ambassador in Tunis make no bones about the state of the small Maghreb country, widely considered one of the most repressive in North Africa. No surprise that Tunisia blocked the website of Beirut's al-Akhbar, which published some of the documents.
Turkey
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted furiously to US diplomatic cables that suggested he was a corrupt closet Islamist. As Turkey heads for elections next year, secular Republican opponents may try to exploit his evident discomfort.
The cables highlighted three principal issues. Erdogan's personal probity – he was reported to have eight secret Swiss bank accounts; the supposed Islamist agenda of the ruling AKP party; and Turkey's perceived drift away from the western alliance and closer embrace of countries such as Syria and Iran.
Erdogan's response was both to dismiss the cables as tittle-tattle, and to conjure conspiracy theories."The un-serious cables of American diplomats, formed from gossip, magazines, allegations and slander are spreading worldwide via the internet," Erdogan said. "Are there disclosures of state secrets, or is there another aim?" he askedd. "… Is it carrying out a veiled, dark propaganda? Are there efforts to affect, manipulate relations between certain countries?"
Europe
Russia
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave the sharpest response to the WikiLeaks cables in which he was protrayed as Batman to Dmitry Medvedev's Robin. "Slander", he called it. The embassy cables portray Russia as a corrupt kleptocracy where politicians and criminals were inextricably linked. Medvedev has said that the cables "show a full measure of cynicism" in US foreign policy making. But he suggested the leaks would not damage relations between Moscow and WashingtonSergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, claimed to be surprised that "some petty thieves running around the Internet" are causing such a sensation. In reality, the cables have caused lasting damage in Russia, playing to the deep mistrust of US intentions that imbues Kremlin policy making.
Poland
The cables revealed a battle of wits and mutual dissembling between Warsaw and Washington over US military aid to Poland, missile defence, and attitudes towards Russia. While the Poles welcomed secret Nato plans for the defence of the three Baltic states, they worried the new plan would dilute Nato security guarantees for Poland.
The disclosures appear to be sparking a sober re-assessment in Warsaw of the closeness of the relationship with Washington.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk sounded bitter and disenchanted on Tuesday after the Guardian published material on Poland.
"We have a really serious problem," he said. "Not with image, as some countries do, and not reputation, like the US does. It's a problem of being stripped of illusions about the nature of relations between countries, including such close allies as Poland and the US."
Italy
La Repubblica, one of Italy's best-selling dailies, on Wednesday carried the first in a series of articles examining the relationship between Silvio Berlusconi and Russia's prime minister, Vladimir Putin, in the light of claims reported by the US state department cables that the Italian leader was profiting from gas deals between their two countries.
Newspapers and other media have given extensive coverage to the WikiLeaks disclosures. Berlusconi, who has denied any financial interest in Italy's energy dealings, was also embarrassed by a cable that quoted him as referring to Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev as an "apprentice". He insisted he never said it.
But in a country where the prime minister cannot be forced to answer to parliament and where attention is now focussed mainly on two parliamentary censure motions that could topple the Berlusconi administration next week, the political fall-out has been limited. Pierluigi Bersani, the leader of Italy's biggest opposition group, the Democratic party, said the cables showed that "the prime minister, with his behaviour and political decisions, harms the reputation of Italy in the world."
But, for the most part, opposition politicians have heeded a warning from Berlusconi's foreign minister, Franco Frattini, not to exploit the cables for political purposes.
Austria
The cables show a rather withering US contempt for Austria and its leading politicians, with US diplomats complaining that Washington has little leverage in Vienna because the government there is barely interested in developing relations with the US. The social democratic chancellor, Werner Faymann, is described as a leader with scant interest in foreign affairs. The foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger, is preoccupied with promoting Austrian business. And Austria, constitutionally neutral and not in Nato, is criticised for resisting US pressure to send forces to Afghanistan.
Norbert Darabos, the defence minister, described the US criticism as "inexplicable", and said Austria would not increase its contribution to Afghanistan beyond the five policemen it has sent.
A leading Austrian Greens MP, Peter Pilz, proposed that the country should grant Julian Assange political asylum.
Kazakhstan
US cables described the peccadilloes of the Kazakh elite, including the 40-horse stable of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president, a private Elton John concert for a top politician and an extraordinary midnight dance by the prime minister at a nightclub called Chocolat. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, was at pains to privately apologise to several world leaders who were pilloried in the disclosures.
Turkmenistan
In perhaps the baldest character assassination of any world leader in the WikiLeaks cables, a US diplomat reported to Washington that president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan is seen as "vain, fastidious, vindictive, a micro-manager," a "practised liar" and "not a very bright guy". In keeping with the country's insular regime, the charge provoked little reaction.
Georgia
Disclosures about the Caucasus state were a mixed bag. As the New York Times noted, they showed US diplomats' catastrophic failure to recognise that Mikhail Saakashvili, the president, was planning to attack the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia in 2008. But they also concluded that before the conflict Russia had been "aggressively playing a high-stakes covert game" in an attempt to provoke Georgia into retaliation. Giga Bokeria, secretary of Georgia's national security council, toed Washington's line in his assessment of the WikiLeaks releases. "It is very cynical when one, under the guise of a martyr, fights against the greatest democracy [the US] using such prohibited methods," he said of Julian Assange, in televised comments.
Kyrgyzstan
Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, was the setting for Prince Andrew's infamous rant about geographically-challenged Americans and snooping "(expletive) journalists, especially from the National Guardian." At a meeting with the prince, Tatiana Gfoeller, the US ambassador to Bishkek, decided he was a victim of "neuralgic patriotism" whose behaviour "verged on the rude". Kyrgyzstan's leadership has been silent on that sharp assessment, while local media have been more interested in claims that China offered the country a $3bn (£1.9bn) aid package if it would close the Manas airbase, which the US uses to supply its troops in Afghanistan.
Moldova
According to the WikiLeaks documents, Moldova's then president, Vladimir Voronin, offered a $10m (£6.4m) bribe to a rival in 2009 in a desperate attempt to keep his communist government in power. A leading member of Voronin's party, Mark Tkachuk, told reporters the claims were "fairy tales" and "low-life gossip".
Africa
Kenya
It took just a few leaked words to create an outcry from the Kenyan government. In a teaser of what the cables from Nairobi would reveal, Der Spiegel said last week that US officials believed the country was a "swamp of corruption" — hardly a heretic view on the streets of Nairobi. Government spokesman Alfred Mutua immediately called a news conference to say the government was "surprised and shocked".
"If what is reported is true, it is totally malicious, and a total misrepresentation of our country and our leaders," he said.
He went on to say that foreign countries funding youth empowerment schemes in Kenya – a barely veiled reference to the US — were in fact trying to overthrow the government. The US ambassador to Nairobi, Michael Ranneberger, described Mutua's claims as "utterly ridiculous". The prime minister told parliament he welcomed the Wikileaks revelations.
'We now know what some of our friends think about us … it is helpful."
After the revelations on Thursday that the US ambassador believed rampant corruption could lead in renewed violence in the country, Kibaki's office released a statement defending his record.
"We wish to state that President Kibaki's record on reforms through out his career speaks for itself. ," it said.
Uganda
The authorities in Uganda were also riled. In response to claims that President Yoweri Museveni feared his plane being shot down on the orders of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the Ugandan foreign minister Sam Kutesa issued a statement yesterday (Thursday).
"While it is true that we hold discussions with the US government on regional and internationals issues, the contents of the alleged cables are grossly inaccurate and illogical. For example, if the Ugandan president perceived the threat to fly the international airspace, the solution would be for him to stay at home. Other leaders in the world have done so in the past."
But Museveni's spokesman Tamale Mirundi confirmed that other leaked cables referring to the president's concern about Sudan supporting the Lord's Resistance Army rebels a few years ago, and Eritrea being a regional threat, were in fact accurate.
Eritrea
Despite its president being described by US officials as an "unhinged dictator", there was no reaction from Eritrea to the leaked cables. There is also no free press in Eritrea.
Nigeria
Royal Dutch Shell said it was "absolutely untrue" that it had infiltrated every Nigerian ministry affecting its operations there. The company offered no further comment.
Zimbabwe
In an opinion piece in the state-run Herald newspaper, Reason Wafawarova focused on how the cables showed that Mugabe had defied US expectations of his demise from power. He also delighted in description of opposition leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai as a "flawed figure".
South Asia
Pakistan
The rich store of WikiLeaks revelations about Pakistan have monopolized headlines and the political agenda for over ten days. But some stories are considered too hot to touch. While cables exposing the foibles of Pakistan's civilian leaders triggered a media feeding frenzy, the press largely ignored revelations that cast the powerful military in a bad light, including its alleged support for Islamist extremist groups such as the Taliban. That left politicians struggling to bat off embarrassing allegations, such as the bearded religious firebrand seen cosying up to the American ambassador, President Asif Zardari's obsession with his death, or prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's secret support for CIA drone strikes.
"Don't trust WikiLeaks," Gilani told reporters in Kabul at the weekend, attempting to brush off the revelations as "the observations of junior diplomats". Beside him President Hamid Karzai, also tarred in the dispatches, nodded solemnly. Rarely have the sparring neighbours agreed so easily. Coverage of army chief General Ashfaq Kayani focused on revelations that he threatened to oust Zardari last year but held back because he "distrusted" opposition contender Nawaz Sharif. The army issued a statement that Kayani "holds all political leaders in esteem". But most reporters shied away from US intelligence assessments that the army under Kayani continues to support the Taliban and Mumbai attackers Lashkar-e-Taiba. "ISI extols the virtues of some Taliban elements" read one small headline that provided no other details; otherwise loquacious television anchors were largely silent on the matter. One exception was the new Express Tribune paper. "It has always been an open secret that the military acts as puppet master," said an editorial "Only now do we have confirmation of just how tenuous the hold of democracy in the country really is."
Pakistani conspiracy theorists insisted the cables had been deliberately leaked as part of a Washington plot to discredit the Muslim world; the Saudi ambassador described them as "a rapist's propaganda".
But for most Pakistanis, the cables simply confirmed how much influence the US wields over their military and civilian leaders. Several headlines referred to the "WikiLeaks shame"; former diplomat Asif Ezdi said they proved Pakistan had become "the world's biggest banana republic".
The judiciary, meanwhile, liked the cables. Dismissing an attempt to block their publication, High Court judge Sheikh Azmat Saeed, said that WikiLeaks "may cause trouble for some personalities" but would be "good for the progress of the nation in the long run."
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan the Wikileaks disclosure have been a source of endless fascination for the general public, with the country's journalists devoting hours of airtime to pouring over the cables. Among pundits debate has raged about the meaning of the revelations, and even whether they can be believed with some incredulous commentators refusing to accept that the world's most powerful country could ever lose so much confidential information. Some have even suggested it was a put up job by the Americans themselves.
But so far there have been no major political casualties, despite the deeply critical remarks of Hamid Karzai made by his own senior ministers and the US ambassador.
The Afghan president has publicly thrown his support behind Omar Zakhiwal, his finance minister who was quoted in cables describing his boss as "extremely weak man". But a cabinet reshuffle is expected after the new parliament is inaugurated.
Also thought to be vulnerable is Karl Eikenberry, the US ambassador who wrote at times despairing notes back to Washington about Karzai.
The Afghan and US governments have insisted their relationship remains strong but former US ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad has publicly said Eikenberry's position is untenable.
Many believe there is now no chance that he will extend his soon to expire two year term, if he wanted to.
India
In India the reaction to WikiLeaks was initially muted or positive, though the revelations were covered by all sectors of the press, including the local language media. "The first lot of WikiLeaks documents paints a flattering picture of India as a reliable, trusted and respected power in a world that worries itself sick about neighbouring Pakistan," the Times of India newspaper said. Coverage focused on revelations from Pakistan and particularly about Islamabad's security services' relationship with local Islamic extremists. India's external affairs ministry refused to comment on the leak other than to stress its continuing "candid" dialogue with the United States. As the week has passed criticism, both of Western countries and of the leak, has built up, particularly as police in the UK moved to arrest the Wikileaks founder. "The way these governments have been going after Assange and his group raises the question whether what is commonly called the free world is really free," said the Mumbai-based newspaper Daily News Analysis. Others attacked those behind the leak. "There is a strong feeling that the sense of responsibility lacks," union law minister Veerappa Moily told The Guardian yesterday (Wednesday). "This just creates mutual misunderstanding. The trust is endangered by such leaks and that is a very unhealthy trend." Shashi Tharoor, former minister of state for external affairs, called the leaks "unethical and wrong".
"The confidentiality of government communications is the lifeblood of diplomatic comfort," Tharoor told a local reporter. "You do not effectively run a government if your own diplomats cannot report to their own capitals in utter candour." Other commentators however called for an Indian version of the leak, arguing that the Indian bureaucracy was one of the most opaque in the world and could only benefit from public scrutiny.
Bangladesh
Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have been on the front page of most newspapers in Bangladesh over the last week. The story has been of particular interest to the country's many students who thronged street tea stalls in Dhaka, the capital, to discuss "how WikiLeaks has shaken the US administration by revealing its confidential cables", according to one local journalist. Anis Pervez, an associate professor at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, said he had discussed the leaks in his classroom lecture on media ethics. "Every state has sovereignty and sometimes some information can create tension. Then again, there is a dilemma over how much information one should reveal to the public just because he or she has it," he said. One particularly cable alleging that the Islamic extremist group Lashkar-e-Toiba had established sleeper cells in Bangladesh hit headlines. "The information divulged on the WikiLeaks is creating an odd situation for many countries. We have not yet checked the documents found regarding Bangladesh," said Yafeash Osman, state minister for science and technology, said.
Nepal
In Nepal there has therefore been some disappointment that most of the 2,600 documents that were sent from the US Embassy in Kathmandu have not yet to be released. The leaks sparked frantic efforts by Nepali politicians as well as journalists to find out what revelations about the Himalayan nation could be expected with journalists offices in Kathmandu bombarded by calls from politicians and leaderships seeking tips on what might be coming. As elsewhere released cables have been scoured for elements of local interest. Documents suggesting that Maoist rebels had received Indian funding provoked an inevitably strongly worded reaction from Nepal's Maoist party. Other cables touching on the relations between regional giants China and India have also been minutely scrutinised.
Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, the leaks provoked a political and media storm as many focused on the island nation's controversial and bloody recent history. While one effectively accused President Mahinda Rajapaksa of being complicit in war crimes – a charge he denies – another described a diplomatic campaign by British former foreign secretary David Miliband to champion aid and human rights during the Sri Lankan humanitarian crisis last year as largely driven by domestic political calculations. Media reactions have varied. Newspapers loyal to the government have covered the various allegations made in the cables but have particularly focused on material that is embarrassing to the US or the UK The campaigning Sunday Leader however published a call to journalistic arms: "As media acquired books, the powerful enacted bans. As media developed newspapers, the powerful found ways to seal them in courts or seduce them with access and wealth. Through all this one force, however, is constant. You can't keep a good story down. You can't stop the thirst for justice, you can only mask it for a while. This is a lesson that WikiLeaks is teaching the world, and we hope that it will reach Sri Lankan ears."
Asia Pacific
China
China has been tight-lipped. It has also been increasingly keen to stop others from having their say, deleting articles and discussions about the cables. It called the contents of the diplomatic memos "absurd" but has otherwise refused to comment on the information they contain, such as reports of official frustration with North Korea and a source's claim that a senior official was behind the attack on Google.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said yesterday that Beijing hoped the emergence of the cables would not affect relations with Washington.
Censorship has not stopped some people from reading about the cables on overseas websites.
"Reading [about] China and Google, I want to say: WikiLeaks rocks!" one wrote on a microblog service of the popular portal Sina earlier this week.
Another argued: "What Wikileaks says about China must be a slander from the US. What do you think? The US government hates Wikileaks too? It must be a conspiracy."
China Digital Times, which monitors censorship, believes the Central Propaganda Bureau issued an order telling websites not to issue further reports on the cables, although some have reported on Julian Assange's arrest.
Australia
The role of Assange, the country's prodigal son, has generated the most coverage and debate. Referring to him as the 'Ned Kelly of the digital age', Bryce Lowry said: "Assange is a cyber bushranger: a renegade taunter of authority and inspiration to many who marvel at his daring to challenge the status quo." Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the publication of the cables is illegal, and Assange's actions are "grossly irresponsible". She has made it clear the Australian government will offer him no support although the Australian consulate in the UK has offered him access to their services.
The cables themselves reveal an unflattering view of former prime minister – now foreign minister – Kevin Rudd. He was an abrasive, impulsive ''control freak'' who presided over a series of foreign policy blunders. Another cable referenced how Rudd angered the US by detailing a private conversation he had with Bush which included the moment he was "stunned to hear Bush say, 'What's the G20?'"
Rudd retaliated this week. "Mr Assange is not himself responsible for the unauthorised release of 250,000 documents from the US diplomatic communications network. "The Americans are responsible for that," he said.
Um Patriota no Itamaraty, literalmente...
Existem vários Patriotas na carreira, inclusive pessoas que não levam esse nome. Mas sempre é bom ter uma conjugação...
Dilma formaliza convite e Patriota será novo chanceler, diz fonte
Por Jeferson Ribeiro, com reportagem adicional de Bruno Peres
Reuters, Quinta-feira, 09 Dez, 08h48
BRASÍLIA (Reuters) - A presidente eleita Dilma Rousseff convidou formalmente, nesta quinta-feira, mais dois aliados para sua equipe. O embaixador Antônio de Aguiar Patriota, que se reuniu com a futura presidente, aceitou assumir o Ministério das Relações Exteriores, segundo uma fonte.
Dilma reuniu-se com o secretário-geral do Ministério das Relações Exteriores, Antonio Patriota, pela manhã e o convidou para ocupar a chancelaria brasileira. O convite foi aceito, segundo fonte da equipe de transição ouvida pela Reuters. O embaixador tem larga experiência internacional e já ocupou o posto de embaixador do Brasil nos Estados Unidos.
Fernando Pimentel, do PT de Minas Gerais, também reuniu-se com Dilma na residência oficial da Granja do Torto, e recebeu o convite formal para ser o novo ministro do Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio. Amigo pessoal de Dilma desde a adolescência, é mais um dos aliados que foi derrotado nas eleições de outubro e fará parte da equipe da nova presidente.
Após um difícil acordo construído com o PMDB, ele abriu mão de disputar o governo do Estado e concorreu ao Senado. Contudo, não teve votos suficientes para vencer o ex-governador Aécio Neves (PSDB) e o ex-presidente Itamar Franco (PPS), que venceram as eleições para as vagas.
Com a escolha, Dilma muda o perfil de comando nessa pasta em relação ao governo Lula. O atual presidente preferiu sempre nomes mais ligados à indústria ou mesmo industriais para o posto. Pimentel é economista, mas sua carreira sempre esteve mais ligada a temas políticos do que econômicos.
Dilma formaliza convite e Patriota será novo chanceler, diz fonte
Por Jeferson Ribeiro, com reportagem adicional de Bruno Peres
Reuters, Quinta-feira, 09 Dez, 08h48
BRASÍLIA (Reuters) - A presidente eleita Dilma Rousseff convidou formalmente, nesta quinta-feira, mais dois aliados para sua equipe. O embaixador Antônio de Aguiar Patriota, que se reuniu com a futura presidente, aceitou assumir o Ministério das Relações Exteriores, segundo uma fonte.
Dilma reuniu-se com o secretário-geral do Ministério das Relações Exteriores, Antonio Patriota, pela manhã e o convidou para ocupar a chancelaria brasileira. O convite foi aceito, segundo fonte da equipe de transição ouvida pela Reuters. O embaixador tem larga experiência internacional e já ocupou o posto de embaixador do Brasil nos Estados Unidos.
Fernando Pimentel, do PT de Minas Gerais, também reuniu-se com Dilma na residência oficial da Granja do Torto, e recebeu o convite formal para ser o novo ministro do Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio. Amigo pessoal de Dilma desde a adolescência, é mais um dos aliados que foi derrotado nas eleições de outubro e fará parte da equipe da nova presidente.
Após um difícil acordo construído com o PMDB, ele abriu mão de disputar o governo do Estado e concorreu ao Senado. Contudo, não teve votos suficientes para vencer o ex-governador Aécio Neves (PSDB) e o ex-presidente Itamar Franco (PPS), que venceram as eleições para as vagas.
Com a escolha, Dilma muda o perfil de comando nessa pasta em relação ao governo Lula. O atual presidente preferiu sempre nomes mais ligados à indústria ou mesmo industriais para o posto. Pimentel é economista, mas sua carreira sempre esteve mais ligada a temas políticos do que econômicos.
A barriga da semana... e a pressa em se vangloriar...
A “libertação” de Sakineh e a modéstia lulista
por Marcos Guterman
Blog no Estadão, 10.dezembro.2010 11:41:17
A notícia da libertação da iraniana Sakineh Ashtiani, anunciada por uma ONG alemã, provou-se precipitada. Na verdade, parece que a situação dela não mudou nem um milímetro – ela continua condenada a ser enforcada por participação no homicídio de seu marido, a quem ela supostamente traiu. O caso, como se sabe, é centro de enorme atenção mundial, graças ao fato de que Sakineh fora primeiro condenada à morte por apedrejamento, sentença de indizível crueldade, justificada por questões religiosas. Enquanto não foi desmentida, porém, a informação da libertação de Sakineh causou comoção, embora não mudasse substancialmente o cenário de desrespeito flagrante de direitos humanos no Irã – há ainda dezenas de condenados a apedrejamento no país, por motivos semelhantes. Houve reticência, no entanto, por parte dos vários governos interessados no assunto. A Casa Branca não emitiu nenhum comentário. França e Alemanha alegaram que precisavam de confirmação. Já o governo brasileiro, apesar de exibir certa cautela, não perdeu a chance de tripudiar sobre os críticos e reivindicar a responsabilidade indireta pela “libertação”.
“É uma vitória dos direitos humanos em geral e confirma que há formas eficientes de vender os direitos humanos que não precisam ser ruidosas”, disse o assessor do presidente Lula para assuntos internacionais, Marco Aurélio Garcia, sugerindo que foi a “discrição” do Brasil lulista que libertou Sakineh. Como o Irã parece que não mudou de ideia mesmo com a “discreta” mediação brasileira, é lícito considerar que a estratégia, enfim, não funciona com regimes de perfil totalitário.
Garcia aproveitou para defender o “companheiro” presidente iraniano, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “Esperamos que esse processo prossiga. Acho que revela a sensibilidade do governo iraniano”, disse o assessor. Pois o “sensível” governo iraniano permanece surdo aos apelos de milhões de pessoas ao redor do mundo.
Por fim, Garcia reafirmou a modéstia que caracteriza o governo Lula: “Acho só que é um acontecimento suficientemente grande para nós querermos nos apropriar dele individualmente”. Ah, bom.
por Marcos Guterman
Blog no Estadão, 10.dezembro.2010 11:41:17
A notícia da libertação da iraniana Sakineh Ashtiani, anunciada por uma ONG alemã, provou-se precipitada. Na verdade, parece que a situação dela não mudou nem um milímetro – ela continua condenada a ser enforcada por participação no homicídio de seu marido, a quem ela supostamente traiu. O caso, como se sabe, é centro de enorme atenção mundial, graças ao fato de que Sakineh fora primeiro condenada à morte por apedrejamento, sentença de indizível crueldade, justificada por questões religiosas. Enquanto não foi desmentida, porém, a informação da libertação de Sakineh causou comoção, embora não mudasse substancialmente o cenário de desrespeito flagrante de direitos humanos no Irã – há ainda dezenas de condenados a apedrejamento no país, por motivos semelhantes. Houve reticência, no entanto, por parte dos vários governos interessados no assunto. A Casa Branca não emitiu nenhum comentário. França e Alemanha alegaram que precisavam de confirmação. Já o governo brasileiro, apesar de exibir certa cautela, não perdeu a chance de tripudiar sobre os críticos e reivindicar a responsabilidade indireta pela “libertação”.
“É uma vitória dos direitos humanos em geral e confirma que há formas eficientes de vender os direitos humanos que não precisam ser ruidosas”, disse o assessor do presidente Lula para assuntos internacionais, Marco Aurélio Garcia, sugerindo que foi a “discrição” do Brasil lulista que libertou Sakineh. Como o Irã parece que não mudou de ideia mesmo com a “discreta” mediação brasileira, é lícito considerar que a estratégia, enfim, não funciona com regimes de perfil totalitário.
Garcia aproveitou para defender o “companheiro” presidente iraniano, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “Esperamos que esse processo prossiga. Acho que revela a sensibilidade do governo iraniano”, disse o assessor. Pois o “sensível” governo iraniano permanece surdo aos apelos de milhões de pessoas ao redor do mundo.
Por fim, Garcia reafirmou a modéstia que caracteriza o governo Lula: “Acho só que é um acontecimento suficientemente grande para nós querermos nos apropriar dele individualmente”. Ah, bom.
Tocando na CBN: entrevistas antigas
Recentemente dei uma entrevista para a CBN, a propósito da crise na Irlanda e seus desdobramentos possíveis.
Não ouvi minha entrevista, que foi gravada, e não sei o que foi colocando, exatamente, talvez tudo, mas sempre é bom conferir o que se diz, pois as perguntas são feitas sem que se tenha tempo de uma preparação adequada.
Busquei no site da CBN mas não achei essa entrevista recente.
Em contrapartida, achei algumas outras, mais antigas (e nem todas as que dei estão ali).
Constatei, em todo caso, que me enganei, na entrevista sobre o Obama, concedida no começo de 2010, trocando Osama por Obama, ao me referir que o idiota do Bush (não, não usei o termo idiota) tinha sido "salvo" (entre aspas, obviamente) pelo Osama Bin Laden, de uma irrelevância total.
Estes são os arquivos disponíveis no site da CBN:
AUDIO | exibição: 09/02/2010 | site: CBN
Impacto de uma crise na Grécia, Portugal e Espanha sobre a zona do euro seria 'muito pequeno'
Entrevista com Paulo Roberto de Almeida, doutor em Ciências Sociais pela Universidade de Bruxelas e professor de pós-graduação do Centro Universitário de Brasília
AUDIO | exibição: 17/02/2010 | site: CBN
Rejeição a Obama apontada por pesquisa da CNN está ligada a economia interna dos EUA
Entrevista com Paulo Roberto de Almeida, doutor em Ciências Sociais pela Universidade de Bruxelas e professor de pós-graduação do Centro Universitário de Brasília
AUDIO | exibição: 13/01/2009 | site: CBN
Especialista comenta relatório que prevê grandes desafios para a economia global em 2009
Entrevista com Paulo Roberto de Almeida, professor do Instituto de Relações Internacionais do Centro Universitário de Brasília
AUDIO | exibição: 13/01/2009 | site: CBN
Especialista comenta relatório que prevê grandes desafios para a economia global em 2009
Entrevista com Paulo Roberto de Almeida, professor do Instituto de Relações Internacionais do Centro Universitário de Brasília
AUDIO | exibição: 03/05/2008 | site: CBN
A importância dos países emergentes
Ouça a primeira parte do programa, com entrevista de Paulo Roberto de Almeida, professor de economia política internacional no Centro...Lacerda, professor doutor em economia pela PUC de São Paulo Ouça a segunda parte do programa .Ouça a terceira...
AUDIO | exibição: 29/11/2008 | site: CBN
Crise financeira mundial e seus impactos na Europa
...a primeira parte do programa com Paulo Roberto de Almeida, professor Economia Política do Centro Universitário de Brasília, e José Luiz Niemweyer, coordenador do curso de Relações Internacionais do Ibmec-RJ..
Não ouvi minha entrevista, que foi gravada, e não sei o que foi colocando, exatamente, talvez tudo, mas sempre é bom conferir o que se diz, pois as perguntas são feitas sem que se tenha tempo de uma preparação adequada.
Busquei no site da CBN mas não achei essa entrevista recente.
Em contrapartida, achei algumas outras, mais antigas (e nem todas as que dei estão ali).
Constatei, em todo caso, que me enganei, na entrevista sobre o Obama, concedida no começo de 2010, trocando Osama por Obama, ao me referir que o idiota do Bush (não, não usei o termo idiota) tinha sido "salvo" (entre aspas, obviamente) pelo Osama Bin Laden, de uma irrelevância total.
Estes são os arquivos disponíveis no site da CBN:
AUDIO | exibição: 09/02/2010 | site: CBN
Impacto de uma crise na Grécia, Portugal e Espanha sobre a zona do euro seria 'muito pequeno'
Entrevista com Paulo Roberto de Almeida, doutor em Ciências Sociais pela Universidade de Bruxelas e professor de pós-graduação do Centro Universitário de Brasília
AUDIO | exibição: 17/02/2010 | site: CBN
Rejeição a Obama apontada por pesquisa da CNN está ligada a economia interna dos EUA
Entrevista com Paulo Roberto de Almeida, doutor em Ciências Sociais pela Universidade de Bruxelas e professor de pós-graduação do Centro Universitário de Brasília
AUDIO | exibição: 13/01/2009 | site: CBN
Especialista comenta relatório que prevê grandes desafios para a economia global em 2009
Entrevista com Paulo Roberto de Almeida, professor do Instituto de Relações Internacionais do Centro Universitário de Brasília
AUDIO | exibição: 13/01/2009 | site: CBN
Especialista comenta relatório que prevê grandes desafios para a economia global em 2009
Entrevista com Paulo Roberto de Almeida, professor do Instituto de Relações Internacionais do Centro Universitário de Brasília
AUDIO | exibição: 03/05/2008 | site: CBN
A importância dos países emergentes
Ouça a primeira parte do programa, com entrevista de Paulo Roberto de Almeida, professor de economia política internacional no Centro...Lacerda, professor doutor em economia pela PUC de São Paulo Ouça a segunda parte do programa .Ouça a terceira...
AUDIO | exibição: 29/11/2008 | site: CBN
Crise financeira mundial e seus impactos na Europa
...a primeira parte do programa com Paulo Roberto de Almeida, professor Economia Política do Centro Universitário de Brasília, e José Luiz Niemweyer, coordenador do curso de Relações Internacionais do Ibmec-RJ..
quinta-feira, 9 de dezembro de 2010
Pausa para... uma pequena grande aula de Portugues...
Atenção candidatos à carreira diplomática.
Neste link vocês têm uma verdadeira aula de Português, que se completa com uma aula de lógica formal, agregando, ademais, informações relevantes do ponto de vista da política internacional.
Não sei como o mundo não aproveita melhor esses gênios...
Aqui.
PS: Agora, cá entre nós: Eu não sei como tem tanto idiota para aplaudir tamanha bobagem...
Só pode ser servilismo puro, bajulação no mais alto grau. Ufa, falta pouco...
Neste link vocês têm uma verdadeira aula de Português, que se completa com uma aula de lógica formal, agregando, ademais, informações relevantes do ponto de vista da política internacional.
Não sei como o mundo não aproveita melhor esses gênios...
Aqui.
PS: Agora, cá entre nós: Eu não sei como tem tanto idiota para aplaudir tamanha bobagem...
Só pode ser servilismo puro, bajulação no mais alto grau. Ufa, falta pouco...
A estupidez da semana...
Desculpem, mas não consigo me conter quando vejo uma burrice: me dá uma vontade tremenda de chamar gente estúpida de estúpida, idiotas de idiotas...
Câmara aprova proibição de demissão por justa causa em caso de embriaguez
A Comissão de Constituição e Justiça e de Cidadania (CCJ) aprovou, na quarta-feira (8/12), em caráter conclusivo, Projeto de Lei que proíbe a demissão por justa causa em caso de embriaguez habitual ou em serviço. O texto retira essa possibilidade da Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho (CLT) com o objetivo de tratar o alcoolismo como doença, e não como causa para punição. O texto seguirá agora para o Senado, a menos que seja apresentado recurso para sua análise pelo Plenário.
A proposta aprovada é o substitutivo da Comissão de Trabalho, de Administração e Serviço Público ao Projeto de Lei 206/03, do deputado Roberto Magalhães (DEM-PE), que originalmente determina que a demissão, nesses casos, só poderia ocorrer depois que a empresa oferecer ao trabalhador uma licença para tratamento médico com duração de 60 dias.
O relator na CCJ, deputado Sérgio Barradas Carneiro (PT-BA), recomendou a aprovação do substitutivo, de autoria do deputado Tarcísio Zimmermann (PT-RS). "O trabalhador que sofre de alcoolismo deve ser encaminhado para tratamento médico, em vez de ser dispensado por justa causa", justificou Zimmermann, na Comissão de Trabalho.
Foi rejeitado o Projeto de Lei 4518/04, que trata de assunto semelhante. Apesar de ter recebido parecer favorável na CCJ, o texto havia sido rejeitado na Comissão de Trabalho e o que ficou valendo foi o substitutivo. Com informações da Assessoria de Imprensa da Câmara dos Deputados.
Revista Consultor Jurídico, 9 de dezembro de 2010
Câmara aprova proibição de demissão por justa causa em caso de embriaguez
A Comissão de Constituição e Justiça e de Cidadania (CCJ) aprovou, na quarta-feira (8/12), em caráter conclusivo, Projeto de Lei que proíbe a demissão por justa causa em caso de embriaguez habitual ou em serviço. O texto retira essa possibilidade da Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho (CLT) com o objetivo de tratar o alcoolismo como doença, e não como causa para punição. O texto seguirá agora para o Senado, a menos que seja apresentado recurso para sua análise pelo Plenário.
A proposta aprovada é o substitutivo da Comissão de Trabalho, de Administração e Serviço Público ao Projeto de Lei 206/03, do deputado Roberto Magalhães (DEM-PE), que originalmente determina que a demissão, nesses casos, só poderia ocorrer depois que a empresa oferecer ao trabalhador uma licença para tratamento médico com duração de 60 dias.
O relator na CCJ, deputado Sérgio Barradas Carneiro (PT-BA), recomendou a aprovação do substitutivo, de autoria do deputado Tarcísio Zimmermann (PT-RS). "O trabalhador que sofre de alcoolismo deve ser encaminhado para tratamento médico, em vez de ser dispensado por justa causa", justificou Zimmermann, na Comissão de Trabalho.
Foi rejeitado o Projeto de Lei 4518/04, que trata de assunto semelhante. Apesar de ter recebido parecer favorável na CCJ, o texto havia sido rejeitado na Comissão de Trabalho e o que ficou valendo foi o substitutivo. Com informações da Assessoria de Imprensa da Câmara dos Deputados.
Revista Consultor Jurídico, 9 de dezembro de 2010
Assinar:
Comentários (Atom)
Postagem em destaque
Livro Marxismo e Socialismo finalmente disponível - Paulo Roberto de Almeida
Meu mais recente livro – que não tem nada a ver com o governo atual ou com sua diplomacia esquizofrênica, já vou logo avisando – ficou final...
-
Uma preparação de longo curso e uma vida nômade Paulo Roberto de Almeida A carreira diplomática tem atraído número crescente de jovens, em ...
-
FAQ do Candidato a Diplomata por Renato Domith Godinho TEMAS: Concurso do Instituto Rio Branco, Itamaraty, Carreira Diplomática, MRE, Diplom...
-
Liberando um artigo que passou um ano no limbo: Mercosul e União Europeia: a longa marcha da cooperação à associação Recebo, em 19/12/2025,...
-
Mercado Comum da Guerra? O Mercosul deveria ser, em princípio, uma zona de livre comércio e também uma zona de paz, entre seus próprios memb...
-
Países de Maior Acesso aos textos PRA em Academia.edu (apenas os superiores a 100 acessos) Compilação Paulo Roberto de Almeida (15/12/2025) ...
-
Reproduzo novamente uma postagem minha de 2020, quando foi publicado o livro de Dennys Xavier sobre Thomas Sowell quarta-feira, 4 de março... -
O destino do Brasil? Uma tartarug a? Paulo Roberto de Almeida Nota sobre os desafios políticos ao desenvolvimento do Brasil Esse “destino” é...
-
Itamaraty 'Memórias', do embaixador Marcos Azambuja, é uma aula de diplomacia Embaixador foi um grande contador de histórias, ...
-
Quando a desgraça é bem-vinda… Leio, tardiamente, nas notícias do dia, que o segundo chanceler virtual do bolsolavismo diplomático (2019-202...