Maravi

(EAST AFRICAN - KENYA) Govts wary of 'leaks' effects on public opinion

Govts wary of 'leaks' effects on public opinion
Posted Monday, December 13 2010 at 16:15

The US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks may not prove too damaging to countries in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region, but the amount of detail Washington demands from its diplomats here and the range of leaders targeted for investigation is shocking — as shocking as similar targeting of UN officials in New York.

While it is the job of every nation’s diplomatic staff to gather and send information on to their respective governments, the information the US is looking for on the region’s leaders borders on the invasive.

Washington has in addition asked for details on military facilities, such as airfields and army camps, and on military equipment, including numbers, operational status and procurement and refurbishment activity.

Kenyan security sources The EastAfrican spoke to said there is “nothing” they can do in security terms to block this, but added that they are concerned that the leaked US State Department cables by Wikileaks will affect how Kenyans view their leaders, especially if the cables cast them in a negative light, and influence the outcome of the general election in 2012.

Nevertheless, they say it is a matter of concern to what extent foreign intelligence agents may have infiltrated the country to obtain sensitive information on Kenyan leaders, politicians and prominent businessmen.

US ambassadors in the country since 1989, from Smith Hempstone through Aurelia Brazeal to Prudence Bushnell, Johnnie Carson, William Bellamy and currently Michael Ranneberger, have succeeded in winning Kenyans’ trust and confidence by constantly criticising the country’s leaders over corruption.

“Intelligence agents are more concerned if what is contained in the cables negatively affects the integrity and credibility of Kenyan leaders and politicians. It will erode the confidence Kenyans have in their leaders. This is likely to change the way Kenyans think of their leaders because US ambassadors have made Kenyans believe in and trust them,” an intelligence officer said.

Intelligence officers said they believe they would be tasked with providing critical advice to the Kenyan leadership on how to change citizens’ perceptions in case the cable leaks proved negative — which, at the end of last week, turned out to be the case.

In Uganda, intelligence officials declined to comment, arguing that the issue of Wikileaks can only be dealt with by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But a foreign affairs official argued that the Ugandan government knows that this happens all the time and they are “not bothered.” He explained that all countries have security or defence attaches whose primary purpose is to snoop around.

Uganda is more concerned about the impact of the leaked cables on the workings of diplomacy rather than the implied attack on its sovereignty and the unsavory comments made by American diplomats about key Ugandan figures.

James Mugume, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The EastAfrican: “That is what ambassadors do, it is their job to gather information about host governments but there is a difference between such statements and official policy.

Diplomats make so make so many assessments about the situation at their stations and sometimes these may reflect the idiosyncrasies of the particular individual rather than official policy about a particular issue, so we don’t think the comments that Wikileaks has selectively leaked represent official American policy or the policy of any government for that matter.”

Mr Mugume however said the leaks undermine the way diplomacy works. “Diplomacy is the first line of defence, but diplomacy only works because it is confidential. Wikileaks has undermined that aspect of diplomacy and as has been stated, they put the lives of people at risk.”

He questioned the motive behind the leaks, saying the selective leaking of scattered pieces of information may serve an agenda beyond giving the public access to government information.

For example, a national human intelligence (“humint”) collection directive issued under Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton’s name calls for highly detailed and personal information on figures at top levels of society in Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

It says, “… reporting officers should include as much of the following information as possible when they have information relating to persons linked to African Great Lakes.”

This information includes: Office and organisational titles; names, position titles and other information on business cards; numbers of telephones, cell phones, pagers and faxes; compendia of contact information, such as telephone directories and e-mail listings; Internet and intranet “handles,” Internet e-mail addresses, website identification-URLs; credit card account numbers; frequent flyer account numbers; work schedules, and other relevant biographical information.

Biographic and biometric data called for also includes health, opinions toward the US, training history, ethnicity (tribal and/or clan), and language skills of key and emerging political, military, intelligence, opposition, ethnic, religious, and business leaders.

Data should include e-mail addresses, telephone and fax numbers, fingerprints, facial images, DNA, and iris scans.

Other information asked for is on leadership dynamics and decision-making processes of key civilian and military officials; influence of corruption and patronage in decision-making.

They include plans and intentions regarding political succession, including post-election transitions; and any indications of coup plotting.

Also required is information on leaders’ influence on popular opinion and popular sentiments; influence on government leadership of religious organisations, interest groups, ethnic groups, and the military.

Labels: DIPLOMACY, KENYA, SPYING, WIKILEAKS

posted by MrK @ 3:59 PM