UK refuses to admit US embassy cables obtained by WikiLeaks are genuine

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Guardian

The government is refusing to admit that thousands of classified US embassy cables obtained by WikiLeaks and published in the Guardian are genuine, the high court has been told.

It was made clear that the refusal was intended to protect the government from the charge that it imposed a Marine Protected Area around the Chagos Islands in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) to prevent the islanders from ever returning to their homeland.

Lawyers representing the government made it clear that it was also worried about upsetting the US if it confirmed that the leaked cables were genuine.

A US embassy cable published in the Guardian in December 2010 quoted a senior Foreign Office official, Colin Roberts, telling the Americans that as a result of imposing the marine reserve, there would be no "human footprints" or "Man Fridays" on the islands.

He said the plan would "in effect, put paid to resettlement claims of the archipelago's former residents", according to the cable.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/15/uk-us-embassy-cables-wikileaks?utm_source=twitterfeed

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This is from the High Court today. The subject is Diego Garcia and its rightful inhabitants.

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

Damn

[drm604]

2. Isn't that the same as saying that they are genuine?

They're saying that they're refusing to admit that the cables genuine in order to protect themselves and to protect their relations with the US?

If they're not genuine then they wouldn't have such concerns, right?

[dipsydoodle]

3. It doesn't follow that the Hague wont accept the leaks.

Even if the UK government get away with this now.

[Ash_F]

4. In summary, the UK kicked people off of their land to give the US a military base...

...in exchange for a discount on nuclear missiles, and then covered it up by calling the area a 'nature preserve'.

You can't even make up something that obscene. No wonder they want to railroad Manning. Where are DU's resident rightwing toolbags? I want to hear their take on this one. They probably have no problem with it, as they had no problem with the Virginia based company Dyncorp's child sex slave business in Afghanistan which was also uncovered by Manning.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. Refuse to admit, hmm, ... but no denial? Double hmm. nt

[dipsydoodle]

6. For full background watch John Pilger's - Stealing A Nation [2004] see below.