via Missed Link:- US Cables – EMBASSY ATHENS – WikiLeaks missing/hidden links

Those are some of the missing greek cables from Wikileaks.Certainly those few and past ones do not satisfy nobody. What happened with the submarines german deal,what happened with Siemens and ex Minister Tsoxatzopoulos,What has happened with the Aegean and which are the surprises we haven’t seen yet.Wikileakes  reveals nothing more than what a common tabloid has already. Sorry guys,I used to be a supporter

The Syrian files were released including a helluva of greek corporate names, but where the hell is the proof? Where is the Alcatel Cables?  the Syrian Assad communication cables with the Italo- Greek communication Services? THIS  CONSTITUTES A CRIME AGAINST NATIONS,MAINLY SYRIA AND THEN ITALY AND GREECE

Whoever decided to hide those cables he should be considered an accessory to PEACE crimes

Greece Cables

– US Cables – EMBASSY ATHENS – WikiLeaks –

Arms Procurement Plan 2006-2010 approved – Cablegate – 2006: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/08/06ATHENS2031.html

• “On July 25, the GoG announced plans to spend an estimated EUR 27 billion for arms procurement over the next decade”

• “The government’s handling of defense procurement, Papoutsis said, increases costs, “mortgages” the future of the welfare state”

• “and pushes up the overall defense budget instead of economizing with the view of offering more funds for education, health care, and social security”

______________________________________________________________________________

Students Protest proposed University Reforms, Shut down Athens Center – Cablegate – 2006: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/06/06ATHENS1507.html

• “Many who oppose the amendments have focused on what they call the “commercialization” of the public university education or “surrender of public universities to private interests.””

• Comment [US]: “We have long pushed for the GoG to recognize degrees from private institutions, which would, among other things, benefit private U.S. higher learning institutions already here”

Government caves to Student Protests, postpones proposed University Reforms – Cablegate – 2006: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/06/06ATHENS1556.html

• “In the face of continuing, mass student protests and demonstrations, Education Minister Yiannakou announced on June 13 that she would postpone submitting the draft bill on education reforms during the summer parliament recess as originally planned”

• Comment [US]: “The government’s postponement in the face of student protests is disappointing to us: a number of U.S.-based private, non-profit universities operating here would benefit from these reforms”

_________________________________________

Southern Corridor Energy Conference examines European Energy Security – Cablegate – 2006: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/08/06ATHENS2078.html

• “Gazprom’s growing stranglehold on European energy supplies, particularly in the area of natural gas, has the potential to reduce these countries’ diplomatic freedom of movement in support of U.S. diplomatic goals”

• “Improving these countries’ energy security and diversity of supply options can therefore improve U.S. national security”

• “One key element of this overall strategy is maximizing the opportunity provided by the new Turkey-Greece-Italy natural gas interconnector, currently under construction, to bring Caspian gas to Europe”

The U.S. Strategy:

• “All agreed that it is imperative to promote energy diversification strategies that encompass the development of additional energy sources and suppliers to provide vulnerable SE and SCE countries with alternatives to Gazprom”

• “To confront Gazprom domination, there must be a concerted effort to diversify and develop multiple gas pipelines from the Caspian to Europe”

“Turkey’s Role — as Transit Country or as Reseller — Must Be Clarified”

• “During the conference it became clear that the key problem vis-a-vis Turkey is its aspirations to become an energy reseller, extracting (it hopes) greater profits from gas trade than it would as a simple gas transit country”

“The Russian Strategy: Gazprom”

• “Firstly, what kind of a company is Gazprom? According to conference participants, Gazprom,s risk-averse business model seeks to consolidate all aspects of gas production, transportation, and delivery into a vertically integrated operation”

• “Moreover, Gazprom’s predatory behavior towards potential competitors seeks to expand its reach horizontally. The result is the creation of a “super” monopoly”

• “Once the deal is struck, however, Gazprom has been utilizing its market power to extract concessions from the customer, whether in new pricing agreements, increased preferential access to transit capacity, or frequently, in majority or strong minority control of local gas companies”

______________________________________________________________________________

Putin and Purvanov in Athens: the long Road to Burgas-Alexandroupolis – Cablegate – 2006: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2006/09/06ATHENS2324.html

• “The Burgas-Alexandroupolis Project: “The B-A project was originally conceived in 1994 as a project to relieve tanker traffic through the congested Bosporus strait”

• The 285-kilometer cross-border pipeline is designed to carry Russian oil from the Bulgarian port of Burgas to the Greek port of Alexandroupolis in northern Greece”

• “The project has an estimated investment cost of 750-800 million US dollars with an annual capacity of 35 million tonnes of oil”

Greek PM in Moscow: Rhetoric (Apparently) Unmatched by Deeds – Cablegate – 2007: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2007/12/07ATHENS2375.html

• “During a December 17-18 visit to Moscow, Greek PM Karamanlis signed with Russian President Putin and Bulgarian President Parvanov an agreement establishing a company to construct the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline through Bulgaria and Greece”

• “We have told the Greeks the U.S. has no problem with better Greek-Russian ties. At the same time, we continue to ask how Greece can reconcile its support for the Turkey-Greece-Italy gas inter-connector with the competing South Stream project — a question to which we have yet to receive an adequate reply”

_________________________________________

P.M. Karamanlis Trip to Russia: Energy – Cablegate – 2008: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2008/04/08ATHENS598.html

• “The IGA, he said, includes provisions that: an international holding company (Societe Anonyme) will be established for the portion of South Stream that passes through Greek territory, jointly and equally owned by Gazprom and the Greek Pipeline Transmission Operator (DESFA)”

Energy: Greeks see Baku ready to Cooperate, Ankara standing in the Way – Cablegate – 2008: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2008/03/08ATHENS438.html

• “Minister of Development Folias told the Ambassador he had found a spirit of “excellent cooperation” in Baku during his March 17 trip there”

• “He noted that “The Azeris are as keen to work with us as we are with them. Moreover, they have a huge supply of gas.””

• “Folias said Azerbaijani officials had told him that the country had gas for 100 – 200 years, and that it had extracted 28 bcm of gas this year alone”

TFGG01: Greece’s Business-as-Usual with Russia undermines strong NATO Statements – Cablegate – 2008: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2008/08/08ATHENS1216.html

• “Despite strong statements at NATO and the EU by FM Bakoyannis supporting Georgian territorial integrity and condemning Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states, the GOG at the same time is moving ahead with several “business-as-usual” events with Russia, including a visit this week of a Russian defense industry team to discuss arms purchases, the impending Parliamentary ratification of the South Stream gas pipeline deal with Russia, and co-sponsorship with Russia of a major cultural event marking 180 years of Greek-Russian diplomatic relations”

• “Embassy will continue to press the GOG to delay or cancel these events to avoid undercutting NATO and EU positions”

_________________________________________

U.S./Greece Mil-to-Mil Cooperation: the Good, the Bad, and the Necessary – Cablegate – 2008: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2008/06/08ATHENS896.html

• “The Greeks currently tend to overstate both their contributions and their importance to the United States, and there is no need to accept the Greek hyperbole. But some of the facts of this cooperation speak for themselves”

• “The GOG has proven to be a very cooperative partner at Souda Bay, though it does not advertise this for domestic political reasons”

MOD Venizelos lays out Views before Parliament – Cablegate – 2009: http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/10/09ATHENS1563.html

• “New Minister of Defense Evangelos Venizelos recently told Parliament that he will take an “extremely cautious” view towards NATO’s Strategic Concept, that he wants to avoid Aegean tensions but will resist flagrant Turkish violations of international law and threats of violence, and that he wants to reduce defense spending to average OSCE levels”

______________________________________________________________________________

der Standard: die Griechen müssen ehrlich zu sich sein: http://derstandard.at/1326503009320/Die-Griechen-muessen-ehrlich-zu-sich-sein

• “mangelnde Steuermoral, Beihilfenbetrug und grenzenlose Rüstungsausgaben freuen nur Waffenhersteller und Banken im Ausland”

Aufruf zum EU-Streik gegen die Ratingagenturen – Sepp Wall-Strasser: http://derstandard.at/1304552271368/Griechenland-Aufruf-zum-EU-Streik-gegen-die-Ratingagenturen

• “die Gründe für das Nichtfunktionieren liegen auf der Hand: Kein Land kann sich aus einer Krise “heraussparen””

• “die drakonischen Maßnahmen strafen die falschen, sie bringen die Realwirtschaft zum Absturz und lassen die eigentlichen Verursacher – die “Märkte” – ungeschoren davonkommen”

• “Retten könnte uns nur noch ein radikaler Politikwechsel innerhalb der EU – also gleichsam ein Streik gegen jene Kräfte, die derzeit drauf und dran sind, die Grundlagen der Gemeinschaft zu ruinieren”

• “klar ist, dass es darum geht, die vielzitierten “Märkte” – die geballte Macht der Finanzindustrie – in die Schranken zu weisen und die “Polis” – das Gemeinsame, die Demokratie – zu retten”

______________________________________________________________________________

Homer – Wikipedia EN: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer

[…]

 

So true,so genuine that I still can’t find a title for the post:) and i have the same question,the picture is from Twitter 😀 not funny but made me smile

 

Big pharma takes aim at deadly counterfeits

 

By Katie McQue [Source]

GATEWAY TO AFRICA | In Africa the cost of all medications, including generic drugs, exceeds the means of most and many people are faced with a grim choice: purchase counterfeit medications, ingredients unknown, or go without treatment.

With 30% of the total available pharmaceuticals in Uganda believed to be counterfeit, the country, like many others, is struggling to keep control of a business that is both deadly and lucrative.

“A lot of deaths occur. But nobody reports these and nobody is going to investigate,” said Suraj Ali, a partner at the Ugandan legal firm Muwema & Mugerwa.

The situation in Uganda is typical in much of sub-Saharan Africa, and the reasons are economic. In regions of high prevalence of poverty the cost of all medications, including generic drugs, exceeds the means of most. Few people have medical insurance, and they are faced with a grim choice: purchase counterfeit medications – ingredients unknown – or simply go without treatment.

The big pharmaceutical firms are worried. “When you visit a market in Tanzania, you see that they are being sold everywhere,” Ed Wheatley, AstraZeneca’s investigations director for the region, said at June’s Visiongain Pharmaceutical Anti-Counterfeiting conference, in which representatives from major drug makers gathered to deliberate the problem.

This big problem is also a big business – it is widely estimated that counterfeit drugs have an annual turnover of US$75 billion worldwide, with a profit margin of about 70%. This means that the global share of counterfeit medications is 10% of the pharmaceutical market. Around the world 200,000 people die annually due to counterfeits.

Most of the fakes hail from factories in China, India and Pakistan, and counterfeiters are more concerned with matching the packaging than the ingredients of the original. Criminals steal hospital vials with branded labels, print their own hologrammed boxes – even buy tablet-making presses on eBay.

The World Health Organisation estimates that 32.1% of these drugs do not contain any active ingredients; 20.2% have incorrect quantities of active ingredients; 21.4% include wrong ingredients and 8.5% have high levels of impurities or contaminates.

The loss of sales and reputation is significant, as users of the fake drugs may still associate their illness with the genuine article. In some countries, drug makers can also be liable for harm caused by fakes.

In Germany, for example, a company can be called to account if it can be proven that it did not utilise all the possibilities provided by state-of-the-art technology to prevent counterfeiting. In most US states, any part of the manufacturing and sales chain can be liable for damages to the consumer arising from faults in a product’s construction, manufacturing or labelling.

Given this risk it is understandable why pharmaceutical companies are keen to intervene in the African counterfeit market. Some assist local governments with on-the-ground intelligence, leading to raids and prosecutions. This assistance is necessary in countries where awareness is low, resources devoted to the problem are scarce and corruption is high.

“There is a lot of corruption,” Ali said. “A lot of the magistrates are underpaid and they get bribed.

“We have a national drug authority that is supposed to prevent counterfeiting, but it is underfunded,” he added. “There are very few inspectors; they don’t have the equipment to check drugs properly… Things find their way into the country – the borders are very porous.”

 

Tell Me Your Chemtrail Symptoms And I Will Tell You Mine

 

by OkanaganChemtrails @ 20.04.09 – 21:50:36

On days where the spraying is severe, 100 flights or more, people will be more likely to take notice and complain about symptoms they are experiencing. They have no explanation for the discomfort they feel. They woke up feeling fine, spent a few hours outside (under a chemtrail sprayed haze) and end their day feeling miserable.

Here’s a list of symptoms that chemtrail spraying can cause a person to experience. Of course not everyone will be affected in the same manner and a lot of that has to do with variables such as the extent of exposure, the condition of ones immune system and the degree of a person’s sensitivity. Symptoms are also more evident as your body accumulates the metals, pathogens and toxins. I’m no doctor but you get the idea I’m trying to illustrate. I’ve experienced a number of these symptoms myself.

Common Symptoms of CRI (Chemtrail Related Illnesses)

(in bold letters,symptoms I have experienced-as Insomniacs)

Neck pain/stiff neck
Stomach cramps
headaches/sinus
Sinus problems
Nausea
Dizziness/light headed
Can’t can’t catch breath
Weepy feeling of sadness
No energy/ massive or light fatigue
crying spells
Loose bowels
Feeling disconnected/ “spaced out”
Can’t focus thoughts/speech/confusion
Deep coldness
Depression
Tight chest/gets worse when laying down
Anxiety
Symptoms never seem to go away
Tests from doctors show nothing
Congestion in chest
Body pain
Dramatic mood swings/anger, sadness
Tightness in chest and/or stomach
Ear aches
Sore throat
Tightness in shoulders both or one side going in to neck, head, and sinusus
Sorness all over
Dry cough
Metallic taste in mouth
Stomach acid problems
Heat flushes
Unexplained rashes
Short term memory loss

Now, here is a real doctor and his article discussing symptoms of chemtrails. Kindly visit his website for more information. I’ve email requested Dr. L’Hommedieu to add any updated information he deems important right here in the comments section. (Check back again as I feel confidant we can expect him to visit us)

Dr. Stephen C. L’Hommedieu, D.C.

*snip* I can certainly verify the detrimental health affects from chemtrails in my practice. I see many patients, especially children that appear to be suffering symptoms of irritability, unusual periods of uncontrolled behavior, allergies, asthma, or infection. Instead, I find their symptoms to be a direct result of the heavy metal poisoning they have been exposed to from chemtrail activity. This ALWAYS occurs when chemtrail aerosoling is at high levels. To the amazement of the parents I give their children what they require for the toxic metals indicated and the symptoms magically disappear. Now they have begun to notice when their children spend more time outside when heavy chemtrail overcast is present these kids begin developing symptoms the next day or even the same day. Of course, skeptics will attribute this to the power of suggestion. For these people I usually recommend continued heavy doses of ignorance to maintain their comfort zones since the ability to recognize observable details repeated with 100% accuracy may be too overwhelming.

I believe that once people realize that they are sick as a result of aerosol spraying they will be more inclined to take action. Remember, this affects the air/water/foods we breath/drink/eat. It affects you, your family, friends and pets. As a matter of fact a friend recently told me that when she runs with a dog on days that there is massive spraying she experiences some symptoms as does the dog she runs with. Initially its mostly upper respiratory. You can use infrared saunas and herbal cleansing to detoxify your body but it has to be continuous for you to remain healthy.

 

South African Competition Commission: unredacted final Report on Banking:Uncensored

WIKILEAKS

 

Decrypted, unredacted 590 page report on the South African banking industry. Redacted parts were released on 12 Dec 2008 by the South African Competition Commision here: http://www.compcom.co.za/banking/technical%20report.htm

Using technical methods, Wikileaks has decrypted and removed the redactions from all of the report appart from a few images. The previously redacted regions, are shown in blue highlight.

The Competition Commission has the power to put some regulatory pressure on the banks to eg. lower fees & pay fines should the report find that the banks have formed a cartel with their exorbitant fees and unfair business practices. This report is important as it might explain why Banking fees in South Africa are so extremely high.

View this document on Scribd

 

 

NSA Insider: You Are the Target: “They’re Pulling Together the Data About Virtually Every U.S. Citizen ”

 

Few Americans would believe that the government has the technological capability and wherewithal to monitor, track, log, and analyze the everyday activities of American citizens. The idea that the National Security Agency, an organization responsible the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligenc, would operate on US soil to turn the surveillance apparatus on the people they are tasked with protecting has up until now been reserved for conspiracy theorists and Hollywood movies.

It turns out that it’s not a conspiracy, and not only does the NSA operate within the borders of the United States, they are assembling detailed dossiers on every single one of us. William Binney, an NSA whistleblower who recently resigned his post at the NSA over its illegal domestic surveillance programs, notes that the agency is engaged in implementing a total surveillance net over America with the help of private businesses like internet and telecom companies – and their target is YOU.

Domestically, they’re pulling together all the data about virtually every U.S. citizen in the country and assembling that information, building communities that you have relationships with, and knowledge about you; what your activities are; what you’re doing.

So the government is accumulating that kind of information about every individual person and it’s a very dangerous process.

…from one company alone… they were sending, according to my estimate… I reckon there were between 10 and 12 [companies] that were participating… that one company was providing 320 million average logs per day since 2001.

As we’ve noted previously Everything You Do Is Monitored. The NSA’s technological capabilities far surpass anything that has ever existed. Not only is the NSA nowbuilding a massive surveillance facility in Utah capable of monitoring and logging multiple yottabytes (1 Trillion Terabytes of information) of data like emails, cell phone communications, text messages, shopping records and social network interactions, there are over fifty fusion centers across the United States where data is processed on a local or regional level:

All of this information will eventually be fused into one large database. In fact, the government has already setup well over fifty fusion centers around the nation. What goes on in these centers is kept strictly confidential, and there doesn’t seem to be any agency in charge of them, but we know they exist, and we know that their purpose is to acquire, aggregate and act on whatever information they have available to them. These are fairly new, appearing just over the last several years. But be assured that as processing power and software technology improves, so too will the surveillance capabilities of fusion like facilities, whether they belong to government, private industry or criminal industry.

Of course the NSA denies the existence of a spy center designed to monitor US-based communications and activity, but we already know from past experience that government denying something exists doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not real.

They are watching everything we do. For what reason? We can’t say for certain, but history tells us any time government(s) start making lists and collecting data it often turns into a mechanism of intimidation, control and a culling of those who are perceived to be acting against the state.

Our Republic is on very dangerous ground.

From SHTF Plan

 

Obama Promised GMO Labeling in 2007

According to a poll conducted by Reuters Thompson, more than 90% of Americans feel that products containing GMOs should be labeled.  Back in 2007, Obama pulled the support of GMO activists by promising to push for proper labeling of GMO food items, stating that he would push to “let folks know when their food is genetically modified, because Americans have a right to know what they’re buying.” Of course the promise was not fulfilled, as 4 years later in 2011 GMO foods are still not properly labeled. In fact, products containing the Non-GMO label have actually been found to contain GMOs.

Not only has Obama been completely silent on the GMO labeling issue despite his bold statements, but so has the FDA — the very organization in charge of ensuring the ‘health’ of United States consumers. An organization that has caused even more harm, however, is the USDA. The USDA has been approving the production of many new genetically modified crops, including the highly-controversial genetically modified alfalfa. Despite the warnings of scientists and health activists over the dangers of genetically modified crops on human health and the environment, the USDA has continually supported biotech corporation Monsanto over the American public.

GMOs rambunctiously approved by the FDA and USDA, despite known dangers

Despite acknowledging the fact that these crops lead to herbicide-resistant weeds, the USDA assures consumers that these DNA-altering crops are safe for consumption.

As the FDA and USDA continually approve genetically modified creations such as AquaAdvantage salmon without proper labeling, it becomes necessary for consumers to take action. Major ‘health’ food stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s still offer products that contain GMOs that are either not labeled at all, or deceptively so. Slogans like ‘All Natural’ mean virtually nothing when it comes to GMOs and other toxic ingredients, tricking shoppers into thinking they are avoiding these health sinks.

Tell Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s to label their GMO products and stop deceiving customers. It seems that it will be health-conscious activists, not Obama, who will ”let folks know when their food is genetically modified, because Americans have a right to know what they’re buying.”

United Nations Pedophilia Scandals: Where Was the Media? (the report)

 

Maybe I missed it, but I don’t recall reading, hearing, and/or watching about wave after wave of child abuse reports from all over the globe regarding the United Nation’s huge problem with pedophilia.

In 2001, the United Nations International Police Task Force fired a whistle-blower after she told her superiors about a massive pedophile-prostitution ring being run out of the U.N. Peacekeeping Mission in Bosnia. Finally, in 2002, news trickled out on the sex abuse and rape against West African refugee children by U.N. “peacekeepers” and aid workers.

View this document on Scribd

In 2005, it was U.N. “peacekeepers” sexually abusing and raping children and women in the Congo. U.N. Peacekeepers in Rape Scandal

And in 2008, Humanitarian aid workers and United Nation peacekeepers are sexually abusing small children in several war-ravaged and food-poor countries

So, why didn’t the United Nations’ massive pedophilia scandal receive the media attention that was given to the Catholic Church pedophile scandal? Could it have something to do with U.S. government contractor DynCorp, who has so many connections to the sex-slave world.

In 1999 in Bosnia, a U.S. policewoman who worked for DynCorp was fired after telling of an alleged sex-slave ring operating on one of the bases there. The U.S. policewoman, Kathryn Bolkovac, settled a lawsuit. Her story recently wasfeaturedin the film “The Whistleblower.”

Bolkovac’s case followed a similar episode in which another employee, Ben Johnston, blew the whistle on DynCorp employees and supervisors for allegedly engaging in sex with 12- to 15-year-old children and selling them to each other as slaves.

After all, the United Nations subsidized DynCorp pedophilia continues. Dyncorp stock is currently owned by 108 funds/institutions, including Allstate Insurance Co., Bank of America, Bank Of New York Mellon Corp,, Bear Stearns, Blackrock Inc., California Public Employees Retirement System, Credit Suisse …

 

Towards a Time Bound Legislative Agenda for Effective Oil Governance and Avoiding the Oil Curse (Uganda)

 

Communiqué Issued at the Closing of the High Level Policy Dialogue on Oil Governance in Uganda

View this document on Scribd

1. The High Level Policy Dialogue on Oil Governance in Uganda took place in Jinja, Uganda on November 30 –December 1, 2011. The Dialogue was attended by over 120 participants including Members of Parliament and representatives of civil society, cultural leaders, and representatives of local government from the Republic of Uganda, Republic of Ghana and United Republic of Tanzania. The overall goal of the Dialogue was to promote the adoption and efficient implementation of transparency and accountability measures in Uganda policy and legal regime on oil and gas.

2. The participants attending the final session of the dialogue hereby adopt this statement as an expression of consensus on issues, declarations and commitments arising out of the deliberations from the dialogue.

3. That the discovery of oil and gas in Uganda presents a tremendous opportunity for the country to access much needed resources to overcome major social, economic and infrastructure challenges confronting the country. The revenues from oil and gas will enable strategic investment in key areas such as infrastructure, education, health and agriculture.

4. Recognize that Government has made commendable investments and progress in promoting the development of the oil and gas sector and urge government to continue with more purposefulness and openness in handling all matters regarding the development and production of oil and gas resources in the country.

5. TAKE NOTE of the fact that Uganda’s oil and gas sub-sector is still characterized by suspicion arising from undue secrecy and lack of transparency , accountability and integrity, especially with regard to PSAs which is a source of tension and mistrust between the executive, parliament, civil society and citizens.

6. TAKE COGNIZANCE of the encouraging progress made by the Government of Ghana in establishing the appropriate institutional and legal framework for the governance of Ghana’s oil and gas resources. The participants also take note of the excellent work done by the Parliament of Ghana in ensuring that the laws presented before it were debated and passed with appropriate safeguards, transparency and accountability provisions.

7. Reiterate that oil is a national resource and a matter of national interest, In this regard, the participants recognize that decision making and governance of oil and gas resources and management of oil and gas revenues should be above any political affiliation, ethnic alliances, tribal affiliations or any other partisan interests.

AND THEREFORE

8. CALL upon the Government of Uganda to expeditiously present before parliament the appropriate legislation for the governance of oil and gas resources as required by article 244 of the constitution and the relevant resolutions of Parliament on this matter.

9. COMMIT ourselves to work together in ensuring that Members of Parliament and other stakeholders are fully trained and equipped to facilitate meaningful deliberations on the proposed oil and gas legislation.

10. DECLARE our unreserved commitment to work together to support all government actions that promote the good governance of the oil and gas sub-sector and to challenge and oppose any government or corporate actions that have the direct or indirect impact of undermining transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sub sector.

11. ACKNOWLEDGE the common but differentiated responsibilities of the executive, the legislature, the civil society, the media and other interest groups in ensuring that the natural resources of our countries and in particular oil and gas resources are developed, exploited and utilized for the benefit of our people and in the national interest of our countries.

12. INVITE our governments to ensure that the development and exploitation of oil and gas resources take into account the need to make full use of the gas resources and to ensure that gas flaring is avoided on account of the negative environmental consequences arising from gas flaring activities but most importantly the opportunities presented by gas resources.

13. CALL upon the Government of Uganda to honor its policy commitment to subscribe to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) as set out in the national oil and gas policy and to expeditiously take appropriate action to join the Initiative.

14. CALL upon Government of Uganda to investigate cases regarding temporary and permanent expropriations of land belonging to individuals and communities in the Albertine Graben and ensure that prompt, adequate and fair compensation is provided as prescribed in Uganda’s constitution.

15. COMMIT ourselves to take measures and actions required to build mutual confidence and trust between the executive, the legislature, the civil society and citizens as a major building block for effective policy and legislation in the oil and gas sub-sector.

16. Extend our appreciation to the colleagues from the Republic of Ghana and the United Republic of Tanzania for their participation and sharing of experiences that provide important lessons for the development of Uganda’s oil and gas sub-sector.

17. Extend our appreciation to the Parliamentary Forum on Oil and Gas (PFOG) and the member organizations of the Civil Society Coalition on Oil (CSCO), Publish What You Pay-Uganda (PWYP-U), and Oil Watch Network who provided the financial and intellectual resources that made the convening of this dialogue possible.

Jinja, Uganda December 1, 2011 Source

 

28 June 2012 Ecuador Has Two Forms of Political Asylum

 

http://www.elcomercio.com/politica/Regimen-interpretacionesopuestas-asilo-politico_0_726527614.html

 

El Comercio (Quito)

The scheme has conflicting interpretations of political asylum

Thursday 28/06/2012

Rafael Correa’s government has different ways of interpreting the figure of the asylum. It is based on who requests it. The first is a critical, when an Ecuadorian citizen seeking asylum in a third country, feeling persecuted politically for his regime. Since last February, six people have applied for such protection, considering that his integrity was at risk against the Correa administration.

The journalist Emilio Palacio and Carlos Perez, director of The Universe, were the first to call for such protection to United States and Panama. They did it on the grounds that Correa lobbied on trial for insulting them, where they received an adverse ruling. By then, the various government spokesmen chose to dismiss both applications. The processing of the Palace is branded as “ridiculous”, while in the case of Perez said that there was no need to issue a pass so he could go from the Embassy of Panama to the airport.

“Government action was shameful and blatant disregard of the conditions of asylum.” That is the criterion of Joffre Campaign, solicitor of The Universe, who notes that in this chapter, the Executive showed “contempt” for the institution of asylum policy.

A similar stance taken by the Government in May. This month, four suppliers of the contracts between the state and firms linked to Fabricio Correa asked for political asylum in Britain, Costa Rica, Chile and Panama. On that occasion, the government not only dismissed the suppliers, but the Foreign Office displayed a diplomatic offensive to block their applications. From the office of Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño contact was made with the various foreign ministries of the countries involved. In these dialogues the Ecuadorian diplomacy explained that suppliers were tried by a criminal offense. The government accuses them of lying, because in its report noted that Correa allegedly did know of his brother’s contracts with the state.

“At that time the Government did not think our human rights, as it says in the case of Julian Assange”. With those words, the seer Paul Chambers questioned the opposite view that the President has asked for asylum against the Director of Wikileaks, a refugee from the previous week at the Embassy in London. In fact, in the case of Assange, the Government has evidenced its second way to interpret the institution of asylum.

In this regard, the President said he will discuss in detail the grounds on which requested protection Assange Ecuador. In addition, he anticipated that the decision whether to grant asylum to journalist who has four demands for sexual offenses in Sweden, is a sovereign decision of Ecuador.

Luis Saavedra, director of the Regional Foundation of Human Rights Advisory, explains that political asylum is a right that people have, to be persecuted in their countries. And while indicating that it is normal that governments seek to stop asylum claims, objected that Ecuador use a tone “angry” and “arrogant” to do when he is accused of persecution, as in the case of suppliers. From the diplomatic notes that it is wrong that the government has different interpretations of political asylum, depending on who you ask.

Ambassador Luis Narvaez stresses that since the state must have a course of action be in line with “the legal and human depth of the topic” in any situation.