2011-07-19 WikiLeaks Notes: Latest News on #Cablegate Releases & #WikiLeaks

This is a "WikiLeaks News Update", a daily news update of stories that are obviously related to WikiLeaks and also freedom of information, transparency, cybersecurity, and freedom of expression. All the times are GMT.

* Updated: Fourteen people arrested in the U.S., suspected of being in connection with the group that carried DDoS attacks on Paypal's website as a form of protest against the financial blockade that has been imposed on WikiLeaks.

* No legal grounds to prosecute Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai based on diplomatic cables published by The Guardian, a panel has decided.
For more on this subject please read No Prosecution of Morgan Tsvangirai.

* A cable reveals how the United States was warned by Senator Heraclito Fortes, the Brazilian chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations and National Defense committee, against a collaboration between Iran, Russia, and Venezuela to promote ‘Anti-American’ ideology and make more arms available to radical populist governments in Latin America.

Venezuela’s interference and influence in the region, and a perceived closer relation between Iran, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador were matters of concern.

Fortes told the Ambassador, poloff, and assistant army attache that he is "truly concerned" about Iranian and Venezuelan activities in the region, including financing "friendship organizations" between congresses and even potentially financing arms sales.
(...)
He spoke of Iran's growing relationship with Venezuela and Ecuador and even indicated that the recent trip of President Putin to Iran was extremely successful and dealt with many of the difficult issues that had to be resolved. In mentioning arms sales, Chairman Fortes again underscored Iran's interest in helping Brazil, depending on Brazil own interest.

Fortes was critical of the United States Government ‘indifference’ to the situation :

The USG is "indifferent" to what is happening in the region and he urged the USG to take notice of Venezuelan, Russian, and Iranian plans in the region, saying, "You are children: you ignore a problem until it is well along and then it is too late."

And claimed that ‘there was pressure from unknown quarters within Brazil to purchase Russian arms’, then urging the U.S. Government to adopt a plan to promote arms manufacturing partnerships with Brazil and Argentina to 'arm the region', suggesting this could done indirectly through arms firms without publicly linking the U.S. to the increased arms sales.

* WikiLeaks Cambodia : Sour Srun Enterprises, owner of the land in the Chamkarmon district of Phnom Penh from where 146 families were evicted in 2009 is believed to be ‘a front for Canadia Bank [of Cambodia], whose General Manager Pung Kheav Se is an advisor to [Cambodia’s Prime Minister] Hun Sen’, a recently published diplomatic cable from Phnom Penh shows.

Last year, Canadia was involved in the Koh Pich land dispute where families were evicted in similar fashion to what is occurring at the Tonle Bassac site., the cable from 2006 reads. Canadia ‘may not want to be the center of bad publicity again, and therefore a front company was formed to keep government officials’ names out of the press.’

* The U.S. Library of Congress has now also revised its classification of WikiLeaks as an ‘extremist website’ as attributed to Daniel Domscheit-Berg’s book on the subject. The book no longer falls under this category.