Newsletter originally sent March 2009
Dear all,
Various truth issues have recently been hitting the headlines in the mainstream media. The big issue was the case of Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed and his allegations of British involvement in torture inflicted on him whilst held in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Morocco. Lord Justice Thomas issued an astonishing ruling concerning nondisclosure of Government documents. "The ruling implies that torture has taken place in the Mohamed case,that British agencies may have been complicit, and most important of all, that the United States Government has threatened our High Courts that if it releases this information, the US Government will withdraw its intelligence co-operation with the United Kingdom on matters of security." Stated former shadow home secretary David Davis, "The judge rules that there is a strong public interest that this information is put in the public domain even though it is politically embarrassing." David Davis was demanding a Commons statement from the Government on the allegations and he also urged the Government to address an alleged US threat to withdraw intelligence sharing relations with Britain if details of the Binyam Mohamed case are released. Mercifully, Binyam Mohamed is now back in this country, but the case still rumbles on, withwidespread concern that the government may be hiding something under theveil of national security. A video has been released called "Outlawed: Extraordinary Rendition,Torture and Disappearances in the 'War on Terror'". It tells the stories of Khaled El-Masri and Binyam Mohamed, two men who have survivede xtraordinary rendition, secret detention, and torture by the U.S.government working with various other governments worldwide.
Similar concerns have been expressed in connection with the government's veto on the publication of minutes of key cabinet meetings held in the run-up to the Iraq war in 2003.
The Information Tribunal had upheld a decision by the Information Commissioner that details of the March 13 and 17 sessions should be disclosed. The former cabinet minister Clare Short stepped in with an interview with The Mail on Sunday (March 3).
"The Government is refusing to release minutes of Cabinet meetings before the Iraq War because they would reveal there was no discussion on the issue", states the article. "I wanted to know if the Attorney General had any doubts about the legality of the war", stated Clare Short, but "They all said, 'Clare, be quiet, stop.' No one else wanted to talk about it. I was shouted down."
I recently read her book, 'An Honourable Deception?: New Labour, Iraq,and the Misuse of Power', in which she gives details of what happened and what didn't happen. Her account makes it abundantly clear that the UK has not had cabinet government since 1997.
Further on the Civil Liberties front, Chris Huhne MP, of the Liberal Democrats, is introducing a Freedom Bill, which 'calls on the government to repeal the tide of legislation that has stripped away our rights'.The bill would repeal legislation in 20 areas where liberties have been eroded including The Right to Protest, The Right to Public Assembly andCriminalising Trespass.
Even a former head of MI5, Dame Stella Rimington, is now saying that Britain is moving towards a police state
The 9/11 Truth movement has lost yet another leading campaigner inunusual circumstances. Beverly Eckert was one of the 'Jersey Widows' who first latched on to there being something fishy about 9/11, and lobbied for the 9/11 Commission of Enquiry, whose report is now widely seen as a whitewash. The previous week she had been at the White House to talk with President Barack Obama about how the new administration could deal with terror suspects. She was killed in the air crash in Buffalo, which was widely reported in the media http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7889106.stm
On the 9/11 campaigning front, a new group has been formed: Medical Professionals for 9/11 Truth [http://mp911truth.org/]. Their website contains a petition calling "for a new and independent investigation into the events of 9/11/01 by a duly constituted legal body with the authority to subpoena and require testimony under oath, and with authority to prosecute if criminal activity is discovered, so that the perpetrators of these crimes against humanity can at last be brought to justice". There are links on the site to similar groups from other professions.
Recommend it to your friends! Keep campaigning! Keep the feedback coming! And do pass this newsletter on to your friends. Best wishes, Ian.
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