'See the facts': top Democrat defends Russia memo as Trump fumes

Democrats’ memo, initially blocked by White House, responds to claim FBI wrongfully obtained a wiretap on Trump adviser

On Sunday, Trump called the Democrats’ memo a ‘total BUST’. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

Martin Pengelly and agencies @MartinPengelly Sun 25 Feb 2018 16.56 GMT

The author of a newly released Democratic memo on investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election defended his work on Sunday, after being attacked by Donald Trump.

On Saturday, Trump tweeted that the memo was “a total political and legal BUST”. He also tweeted personal abuse of California congressman Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, who he told Fox News was “a bad guy” responsible for leaks that were “probably illegal”.

Referring to an infamous Trump remark about Mexican immigrants, Schiff told CNN’s State of the Union he was “proud to be one of the bad hombres, I guess”.

Trump’s anger about leaks, Schiff said, was likely based on his discussion of Donald Trump Jr’s appearance before the House intelligence committee in December. The president’s son claimed attorney-client privilege to avoid discussing the drafting of a misleading statement about a meeting with Russians offering “dirt” on Hillary Clinton at Trump Tower in June 2016.

Attorney-client privilege did not apply, Schiff said, adding that his discussion of Trump Jr’s appearance was “not a leak, it’s a fact”.

The Democratic memo was published with redactions two weeks after Trump blocked its full release. The document aims to counter a Republican narrative that the FBI and justice department conspired against Trump as they investigated his ties to Russia.

A Republican memo was made public earlier this month, with no objection from the White House. In that document, Republicans on the House intelligence panel attacked the FBI and justice department over the use of information compiled by a former British spy, Christopher Steele, to obtain a secret warrant to monitor the communications of a Trump foreign policy adviser, Carter Page.

“I’m not surprised the White House tried to bury [the Democratic] memo response as long as they could,” Schiff told CNN. “But it’s important for the public to see the facts, that the FBI acted appropriately in seeking a warrant on Carter Page, that they are not part of some deep state as the president would like the public to believe.”

The GOP memo included the assertion that the FBI obtained a surveillance warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) without disclosing that Steele’s research was paid for by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

The Democratic memo says the justice department disclosed “the assessed political motivation of those who hired” Steele, who it said was likely hired by someone “looking for information that could be used to discredit” Trump.

Republicans said that was not enough because the Clinton campaign and the DNC were not named. Trump seized on this point in a tweet and the Republican National Committee said in a statement:

“Again, the fact the minority cannot outright deny that a DNC/Clinton funded document was used to wiretap an American is extremely concerning.”


Adam Schiff, the ranking Democratic member on the House intelligence committee. Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Schiff told CNN: “It’s ironic that Republicans would attack the FBI for following procedures which require that they minimise names of Americans and American entities which are not the subject of a warrant. Even Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are referred to as candidate one and candidate two. They’re supposed to mask the identities of people.”

The Democratic memo asserts that FBI concerns about Page long predated Steele’s work, now known as the Trump-Russia “dossier”, and that the government’s application to monitor Page’s communications detailed suspicious activities he undertook during the 2016 presidential campaign, including a July 2016 trip to Moscow in which he gave a university commencement address.

The memo contends that the justice department provided “additional information from multiple independent sources that corroborated Steele’s reporting”. Most of the details of the corroborated information are blacked out, but they do appear to reference Page’s meeting with Russian officials.

The memo says the justice department did not include any “salacious allegations” about Trump contained in the Steele dossier in the Fisa application.

The memo also details Russian attempts to cultivate Page as a spy. It cites a federal indictment of two Russian spies suspected of targeting Page and notes that the FBI interviewed him in March 2016.

The former MI6 agent Christopher Steele in London. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA



Schiff said: “The issue is, what did Christopher Steele know? What might have influenced him that might bias him? Christopher Steele did not know who was paying him, who the client was, and so the FBI properly reported what they suspected, what Christopher Steele may have suspected, and they masked it appropriately.”

He added: “I’ve been on the [House intelligence] committee for 10 years now and this is the first time Republicans have taken issue with any Fisa application. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it serves the president’s interests to do so here. The FBI have acted appropriately.”

Four former Trump aides have been indicted by Robert Mueller, the special counsel appointed by the justice department to investigate Russian election meddling after Trump fired the FBI director James Comey in May.

Three of those former aides have agreed plea deals, exchanging lighter sentences for cooperation: former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign deputy chairman Rick Gates and former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos. Former campaign manager Paul

Manafort maintains his innocenceon charges including money laundering and tax and bank fraud.
Mueller has also indicted 13 Russian nationals over the campaign to influence the US election in favour of Trump.

Trump has said the Republican memo “vindicates” him. Democrats and Republicans, including Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who helped draft the GOP memo, have said it should not be used to undermine Mueller.

There are some points of agreement between the Republican and Democratic memos, including that the FBI did not open its investigation into links between Russian election interference and the Trump campaign because of Steele’s dossier.

Both memos show the investigation was prompted by concerns about contacts between Papadopoulos and people linked to Russia.

On Sunday, Schiff said Steele’s work was “part of the complete whole of the application and all the parts were important”.

CIA, US intel agencies list Duterte, Hun Sen as ‘regional threats’

(File) President Rodrigo Duterte and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen shakes hands during their meeting at the Peace Palace in Cambodia on December 14, 2016. Source: Wikicommons

By A. Azim Idris | 22nd February 2018

A COLLECTIVE of US intelligence agencies including the CIA has listed Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte and Cambodian leader Hun Sen as both ‘regional threats’ in Southeast Asia.

The Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community released on Feb 13 said Duterte’s suggestion to declare a ‘revolutionary government’ and impose nationwide martial law as a threat to democracy in the region.

“In the Philippines, President Duterte will continue to wage his signature campaign against drugs, corruption, and crime,” the assessment said.

“Duterte has suggested he could suspend the Constitution, declare a ‘revolutionary government,’ and impose nationwide martial law. His declaration of martial law in Mindanao, responding to the ISIS-inspired siege of Marawi City, has been extended through the end of 2018.”

(File) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, wearing a military uniform, gestures as he delivers a speech during the 67th founding anniversary of the First Scout Ranger regiment in San Miguel town, Bulacan province, north of Manila, Philippines Nov 24, 2017. Source: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco

SEE ALSO: CIA warns North Korea ‘will not rest’ with nuclear tests

The intelligence agencies said democracy and human rights in many Southeast Asian nations would remain fragile in 2018 because of autocratic tendencies, rampant corruption and cronyism.

On Hun Sen the report released by Daniel Coats, US director of national intelligence, said the Cambodian leader “will repress democratic institutions and civil society, manipulate government and judicial institutions, and use patronage and political violence to guarantee his rule beyond the 2018 national election”.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen arrives to attend the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) congress in Phnom Penh, Cambodia January 19, 2018. Source: Reuters/Samrang Pring

“Having alienated Western partners, Hun Sen will rely on Beijing’s political and financial support, drawing Cambodia closer to China as a result.”

Apart from the two leaders, the intelligence community said the Rohingya crisis in Burma would threaten its “fledgeling democracy, increase the risk of violent extremism, and provide openings for Beijing to expand its influence.”

Over in Thailand, the community highlighted Junta’s presence in the administration despite promises of an election later this year, while the new Constitution “will institutionalize the military’s influence.”

Earlier, Duterte has said the CIA wants him “out of government”, while Hun Sen has accused the western country of trying to destabilise his country through protests and opposition proxies.

In Oct 2017, the US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim denied that the CIA was plotting against Duterte’s government, according to Rappler.

Coats said the assessment covers “threats to US national security.” Their output, he said, is needed “to protect American lives and America’s interests anywhere in the world.”

The US Intelligence community comprises 17 agencies, including the CIA which conducts intelligence activities to help US foreign policy and ensure national security.

In response, the Philippines presidential palace issued a statement denying that Duterte is an autocrat and is taking seriously the report by the US intelligence community

“We view this declaration from no less than the intelligence department of the United States with some concern,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque told DZMM radio.

The spokesman refuted that assessment.

“For one, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is no autocrat or has autocratic tendencies. He adheres to the rule of law and remains loyal to the constitution,” Roque said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.

He added the so-called revolutionary government or nationwide martial law that Duterte might impose did not exist.

SEE ALSO: The CIA wanted to kill Indonesia’s Sukarno, JFK files reveal 

Despite the denial, Duterte has publicly made such threats on several occasions. In December,  Philippine lawmakers approved a year-long extension of martial rule Mindanao, in the country’s southern region which has been plagued by armed months-long conflict with Islamic-state inspired militants.

Naked members of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity wearing masks attend a protest against extrajudicial killings and the lifting of martial law in the southern island of Mindanao, at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines December 1, 2017. Source: Reuters/Dondi Tawatao

Since running for the presidential seat in 2015 and taking office the year after, Duterte and the US have had an uneasy relationship.

During President Barack Obama’s administration, Duterte had on numerous occasions been about drug-war killings in the Philippines.
                                                                                                                                                                                  However, the friction between Duterte and the US cooled when Donald Trump took the help, applauding his Filipino counterpart on “unbelievable job on the drug problem.”

Thousands have been slain in Duterte’s war on drugs with human rights organisations accusing the Philippine National Police of carrying out extrajudicial killings.

At least 4,000 people have been killed in the drug war, according to official statistics but rights groups and advocates believe the number is much higher.

Earlier this month, the prosecutors from the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.

In December, the US announced new visa restrictions upon individuals it said were involved in “undermining democracy” and violating human rights in Cambodia.

The US State Department said it was taking “concrete steps” to respond to actions taken Hun Sen’s government in Cambodia, which it said “run counter to the Paris Peace Agreements of 1991 that … afforded the Cambodian people democratic rights”.

Hun Sen – who has ruled the Kingdom for more than 30 years – is presiding over what many have claimed is a crackdown against political opposition ahead of elections in 2018.

China’s Cyber Projection

The centralisation that Beijing is pursuing is a manifestation of the so-called ‘corporate state’ that increasingly defines the Chinese political system.

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by Nicholas Lyall- Feb 25, 2018

( February 25, 2018, Canberra, Sri Lanka Guardian) China’s military cyber power capabilities are increasingly being augmented by a civilian dimension to increase their potency. However, in this relatively new domain for civil–military integration, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is taking action to consolidate state control over China’s cyber power projection.Just before the 19th CCP Congress in 2018, the Cyberspace Administration of China released one of the most authoritative policy documents to date outlining Chinese thinking on cyberspace. The document outlines the need to ‘promote the deepened development of military–civilian integration for cybersecurity and informatisation’. It also features instructions to implement civil–military integration systems, cybersecurity projects and innovation policies.

This policy document followed the creation in January 2017 of the Central Commission for Integrated Military and Civilian Development. Under the instructions of the Commission, China’s first ‘cybersecurity innovation centre’ was established in December 2017. Operated by 360 Enterprise Security Group (one of China’s primary cybersecurity companies), the centre’s remit is to foster private sector cooperation to ‘help [the military] win future cyber wars’.

The strong civil–military dimension of Chinese military power has existed since the formation of the People’s Republic of China. Mao’s ‘people’s war’ doctrine stressed that China’s military advantage lay in mobilising the vast Chinese population.

The push to leverage the civilian sector for the development of China’s military cyber capabilities is gaining steam outside of military circles as well. The National Outline for Medium and Long Term Science and Technology Development Planning (2006–20) emphasises the importance of integrating civilian and military scientific and technical efforts. The PLA has heeded such calls, deepening its partnerships with the civilian telecommunications sector — especially ZTE and Huawei — and developing further links with universities.

China’s ‘cyber militias’ are one of the clearest products of this shift. These groups have grown to feature a collective membership of more than 10 million people since the turn of the millennium, and are often based in universities and civilian corporations. While the PLA endorsed cyber militias as a concept in 2006, these groups will likely be restrained to cyber espionage as opposed to offensive cyber operations, given the risk of potentially undermining the work of regular PLA cyber units.

Of the cyber militias, China’s infamous ‘patriotic hackers’ are perhaps the most well known. While these hackers can be a useful tool in hampering state adversaries, they can also often be unruly, erratic and heavy-handed. These hackers are typically driven by popular nationalism, as demonstrated by instances like the cyber stoushes between US and Chinese hackers that followed the US EP-3 incident in 2001.

The Strategic Support Force (SSF) has been the PLA’s answer to mitigating the risk of erratic cyber militias while still harnessing their capabilities. Established in December 2015 to merge and centralise all of the PLA’s space, cyber and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) capabilities in one body, the SSF has also assumed control over a number of PLA research institutes. The integration of these civilian entities into formalised state structures like the SSF represents a desire by China to mitigate the volatility of these hackers.

But this integration means the PLA and the Chinese state will have to forego plausible deniability when their hackers’ operations are uncovered by other states. The improved US ability to attribute cyber operations to Chinese actors, combined with Washington’s budding approach of sanctioning major Chinese state-owned enterprises in retaliation, has made Beijing realise it needs to run a tighter ship.

The centralisation that Beijing is pursuing is a manifestation of the so-called ‘corporate state’ that increasingly defines the Chinese political system. Here, the CCP acknowledges the presence of societal interest groups as an inevitable result of a pluralising society. At the same time, the CCP seeks to co-opt or direct the behaviour of these entities to serve its ends and maintain stability.

The civil–military dimension of China’s cyber power projection has been sporadically apparent since the early 2000s. But it is only recently that we are seeing concerted efforts to leverage the civilian sphere and, more importantly, to centralise and organise it so that it can consistently serve China’s defence and military aims.

Nicholas Lyall is a researcher at the Strategy and Statecraft in Cyberspace program at the National Security College, The Australian National University. He writes for the East Asian Forum, where this piece originally appeared. 

Northern Ireland abortion laws violate women's rights, U.N. body says

Women gather in Parliament Square for a protest in support of legal abortion in Northern Ireland, and against a Tory coalition with the DUP, in central London, Britain, June 24, 2017. REUTERS/Marko Djurica

FEBRUARY 23, 2018 / 

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Kingdom violates women’s rights in Northern Ireland by unduly restricting their access to abortion, a report by the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) said on Friday.

 

“Denial of abortion and criminalisation of abortion amounts to discrimination against women because it is a denial of a service that only women need. And it puts women in horrific situations,” the committee’s vice-chairwoman, Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, said in a statement.

“The situation in Northern Ireland constitutes violence against women that may amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” she said.

In a response to the report, the United Kingdom government said it did not accept women in Northern Ireland had been subject to grave and systematic violations of their rights.

The report recommended changing the law to stop criminal charges being brought against women and girls undergoing abortion or against anyone assisting in the abortion, with a moratorium on the application of existing laws in the interim.

It said abortion should be legal at least in cases of rape or incest or where a woman’s physical or mental health was threatened, or in cases of severe foetal impairment.

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators hold a sign outside Ireland's embassy as they support the demand for more liberal Irish abortion laws, in London, Britain September 30, 2017. REUTERS/Mary Turner/File Photo

Among its other recommendations were ensuring contraception was available, combating gender-based stereotypes regarding women’s primary role as mothers, and protecting women from harassment by anti-abortion campaigners.

The British government said that for years women from Northern Ireland had traveled to England, Scotland and Wales to access abortions, which was legal, although they had to pay for abortions, which are available for free on the National Health Service for residents of those parts of the United Kingdom.

Since June 2017, women from Northern Ireland have no longer had to pay for abortions in England, and Scotland and Wales had similar plans to ensure they were not charged, it said.

Northern Ireland does not currently have its own government, since Irish nationalists Sinn Fein withdrew from the power-sharing government with their rivals, the Democratic Unionist Party, more than a year ago.

“The Committee’s findings and recommendations which focus on changes to the criminal law on abortion cannot be addressed in the absence of a legislature with authority to legislate on such matters in Northern Ireland,” Britain’s response said.

But the report will be brought to the attention of a minister as soon as one was appointed, it added.

CEDAW is composed of 23 independent human rights experts and oversees the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women by countries that have ratified it, but it does not have powers of enforcement.

Hindu temple vandalised in Jaffna

24Feb 2018

A Pillaiyar temple in Chemmani, Jaffna was vandalised this week, with the statue of the deity smashed. 

The attack, by unknown persons, occurred on Thursday evening. 

The police are reportedly investigating the incident, which is the latest in a series of incidents of vandalism targeting Hindu and Christian places of worship across the North-East. 

Related Articles: 

13 February 2018 : 3 Hindu shrines vandalised in Mannar

21 November 2017 : Hindu shrines attacked in Mannar

02 November 2017 : Hindu temple in Vavuniya attacked overnight

ITAK welcomes UNHRC report, wants govt. to honor commitments to int’l community

February 24, 2018, 8:25 pm 

The Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) welcomed the report of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.

The party’s Central Committee, which met in Colombo yesterday welcomed the report, ITAK said in a statement.

"We urge the Government of Sri Lanka to strictly adhere to the commitments it has made to the International community in bringing lasting peace and political solution to the national question", the statement noted.

"Furthermore, we appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka not to deviate from these commitments and deliver on the promises that the Government has made to both of the people of Sri Lanka and to the International Community", it said.

The statement further said: "We strongly endorse the recommendations made by the High Commissioner of the United Nations Human Rights Council and urge upon the member states to ensure a close and constructive engagement with the Sri Lankan Government. The ITAK/and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has constantly raised the issues pertaining to the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, release of lands belonging to civilians, the issue of missing persons, release of political prisoners.

"The lethargic progress in addressing these issues has raised serious concern about the genuineness of government’s actions among the Tamil People. We strongly urge the International community to hold the Government of Sri Lanka accountable for the above-mentioned matters and to the recommendations made by the High Commissioner for United Nations Human Rights Council.

"In addition, we appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka to expedite its actions and to fully implement the cosponsored resolution without undue delay. While expressing our appreciation to the High Commissioner of United Nations Human Rights Council, on behalf of the most affected Tamil community, we urge that the office of the UNHRC and other International agencies and member states to ensure that these recommendations are taken seriously and implemented by the Government of Sri Lanka, as per its commitments".

UN MIGRATION AGENCY, SRI LANKA EXPLORE WAYS FORWARD ON CONFLICT VICTIM REPARATIONS

Image: Children selling peanuts in Jaffna; poverty remains a major obstacle to achieve Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka. ( photo courtesy of @garikaalan)

REPORT from International Organization for Migration.-24/02/2018

Colombo – IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and the Sri Lankan Secretariat for Coordinating the Reconciliation Mechanism (SCRM), are today hosting a two-day (22-23/2) international conference on reparations for conflict victims in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This is the first such conference to be held in Sri Lanka since the end of the country’s long-drawn-out conflict in 2009.

The conference follows a UN Human Rights Council Resolution on the need to promote “reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka” and a government decision, following national consultations in 2016, to actively promote reconciliation, including a system of victim reparations, that will contribute to a lasting peace.

Mano Tittawella, Secretary General, Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms, Sri Lanka, noted that “reparations are essential in leading to a process of reconciliation and is should be done in parallel to a process on truth, justice, and non-recurrence.”

UN Resolution 60/147 (2005) upholds the right to reparations for persons who collectively suffered harm through acts or omissions that constitute gross violations of international human rights law, and affirms the obligation of states to provide reparations as imperative on the basis of international law.
Experience from other countries shows that reparations through judicial processes (criminal or civil) are not necessarily feasible for countries with a large and diverse number of cases, for which comprehensive reparations (also known as administrative reparations) often represent the most viable and inclusive option available.

Reparations programmes can be legally anchored in different frameworks: some may result from an international litigation process (e.g., the German Forced Labour Programme), some are reliant on the recommendations of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (e.g., Sierra Leone), others are founded on dedicated legislation, peace agreements, or a combination of both (e.g., Colombia).

“Transitional justice is a relatively new field which, on a daily basis, is being expanded and enriched through experiences, both positive and negative, from many different societies across the globe. A solution in one country or community does not necessarily work for others, particularly in relation to finding the right balance between what is desirable and what is feasible,” said IOM Sri Lanka Chief of Mission Giuseppe Crocetti.

“It takes a whole of society approach to move from a divided past to a shared future and that is the underlying theme of this conference,” he added.

The conference brought together some 150 participants from the government and non-government sectors, development partners, UN, local and international NGOs, civil society organizations, victim groups, academics, experts and other relevant stakeholders. It aims to provide a platform for mutual dialogue and consultation based on international best practices and lessons learnt from other reconciliation processes.

The key elements of a legitimate, fair, transparent and efficient transitional justice process are inclusivity, victim participation, feasibility and effectiveness. In such a model, the restorative justice mechanisms, such as reparations for human rights violations in conflict, can deliver meaningful benefits to the most affected population, thereby empowering the victims to have more capacity to engage in other aspects of the process, noted Crocetti.

In Sri Lanka, IOM has been working closely with the SCRM in the reparations domain since 2016, initially though Sasakawa Endowment Fund, later with financial assistance from the Government of Australia, and more recently via the UN Peacebuilding Fund.

IOM’s work in reparations in Sri Lanka is guided by, and fits within its country approach to social cohesion and reconciliation click

here: http://srilanka.iom.int/iom/sites/default/files/IOM%20Sri%20Lanka%20brou…
For more information please contact Giuseppe Crocetti at IOM Sri Lanka. Email: gcrocetti@iom.int, Tel. +94115325354

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