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Danish intelligence service reports ongoing high risk to troops in Iraq
 international |
anti-war / imperialism |
other press
 Monday January 16, 2006 21:35 by Coilín ÓhAiseadha Máigh Nuad, Co. Cill Dara
Social Democrats and Social Liberals refuse to negotiate further extensions
The Danish Defence Intelligence Service predicts an ongoing very high level of threat to the Danish troops in Iraq, according to the government’s proposal to extend Denmark’s military presence
After the end of the next five months’ extension, due to be passed at the end of this month, the Danish Social Democrats and Social Liberals have stated that they will no longer support Denmark’s military presence in Iraq, since the government is not willing to set a deadline for withdrawal of the Danish troops.
Also, prize-winning journalist Bo Elkjær complains again to the Ombudsman about the Prime Minister's and the Minister of Foreign Affairs' refusal to give interviews. Translated newspaper article:
DDIS: The threat to the Danish force in Iraq continues
Berlingske Tidende 13 January 2006
Risk: The Danish Defence Intelligence Service predicts an ongoing very high level of threat to the Danish troops in Iraq, according to the government’s proposal to extend Denmark’s military presence
By Jesper Larsen
Despite Iraq’s democratic development with the successful parliamentary elections recently and the work of forming a new government, the security situation and the risk of enemy attack on the Danish force is still completely unchanged. This applies not least to the threat from improvised explosive devices in the form of roadside bombs – which last year caused the death of a Danish soldier – as well as other, more direct terrorist attacks on the approximately 550 Danish troops in the country.
“The threat of attack against the Danish forces, including the terrorist threat, is assessed as high in southern Iraq and very high in central Iraq,” according to the risk assessment from the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS), which is included in the government’s proposal for a parliamentary resolution concerning an extension of Denmark’s military presence up to July.
“Resistance groups frequently attack with improvised explosive devices, mainly in the form of roadside bombs. The threat from this type of attack will continue,” the DDIS predicts.
Threats from many sides
In fact, the intelligence service’s analysis in the government’s proposal for a parliamentary resolution, which was last year sent from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs a sad repetition of the last analysis, and, indeed, also of the previous analysis, down to the comma and last full stop. For there is still little light to be seen, as regards the security of Danish soldiers in Iraq, who regardless of developments only have support up to summer.
“A range of groups and organisations in Iraq are conducting extensive espionage against the multinational force, including the Danish force in the province of Basra.
The espionage is conducted primarily by Iraqi rebel groups, criminal organisations, certain militias and tribes, as well as foreign intelligence services,” explains DDIS and continues: “The threat from espionage against the Danish forces in Iraq are therefore judged to be high. The threat from biological and chemical weapons is judged to be low, while the threat from terrorist groups’ home-made biological and chemical weapons is judged to be medium.”
Last broad mandate period
After the Social Democrats and the Social Liberal Party recently announced that they would not participate in further negotiations about the Iraq mandate – which they nevertheless still vote for together with the Conservatives, Liberals and Danish People’s Party later this month – the government has found itself alone in drafting the proposal for a parliamentary resolution, which proposes a higher degree of training for the Iraqi police and military.
After the end of this five months’ extension, both the Social Liberals and the Social Democrats have stated that they will not support Denmark’s military presence in Iraq, since the government is not willing to set a deadline for withdrawal of the Danish troops.
jela @ berlingske.dk
Facts: Brief summary
Denmark is participating with about 550 soldiers in the so-called multinational security force in Iraq, together with Albania, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, El Salvador, Estonia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, South Korea, the Czech Republic and the United States.
Provisionally, Denmark will participate in the security force until summer.
****
Complaint regarding Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller for breach of the Danish freedom of information act
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 14:24:57 +0100
Subject: Complaint regarding Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller for breach of the Danish freedom of information act
From: "Bo Elkjær"
To: ombudsmanden@ombudsmanden.dk
Cc: stm@stm.dk, permol@um.dk, um@um.dk
Dear Ombudsman Hans Gammeltoft-Hansen
Thank you very much for your letter in mid-December regarding the attached complaint concerning Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller.
I understand that you have requested Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller to reply directly to me concerning the complaint. This they have not done, despite repeated, indeed almost daily requests on my part.
For more than two and a half years now, I have been requesting an interview with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs concerning the war in Iraq. I have written almost every day since August 2005. The only reaction from the Prime Minister´s Department has been two letters, which merely state that the Prime Minister "has nothing further to add". Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller deletes my e-mails without reading them.
I must consequently repeat and maintain my complaint. I naturally regard the case as being significant for society as a whole, but also very much as a question of principle: I do not believe that it is in accord with the Danish freedom of information act to choose, and especially to reject, media as one finds convenient.
I look forward to hearing from the Ombudsman. If required, I will be happy to forward the extensive documentation that I possess pertaining to my interview requests.
Yours sincerely,
Bo Elkjær
-----Original message -----
From: Bo Elkjær
Date: 30 November 2005 08:20
To: ombudsmanden@ombudsmanden.dk
Cc: um@um.dk; permol@um.dk; Statsministeriet; fe@fe-mail.dk
Subject: Complaint regarding Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller for breach of the Danish freedom of information act
Dear Ombudsman Hans Gammeltoft-Hansen
I would like to complain about Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller’s handling of communications concerning requests for interviews from myself.
Ekstra Bladet has now for more than two years requested Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller for an appointment for an interview concerning the government’s reason for going to war. Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller himself initially said that Ekstra Bladet would “get an appointment” – but has since than systematically held the newspaper at bay with non-committal promises, blank refusals and silence.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller has on repeated occasions participated in interviews concerning the Iraq war and the government’s reason for participating in the war in a broad range of electronic and print media. It is thus not a matter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs being generally unwilling to provide the public with information about this reason to go to war, it is – as far as I am aware – Ekstra Bladet alone the Minister of Foreign Affairs is selecting out.
Apart from the purely principal democratic problem - that an attempt is being made to kill journalism on this vitally important area by silence – it is my opinion that the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ behaviour is a clear infringement of the Danish freedom of information act. My understanding of the legal principle of public access to information is that equality before the law also applies in this area and that the Minister of Foreign Affairs is not entitled to choose freely and on the basis of his own subjective judgements which media he will make statements to, and which media he will refuse to make statements to. Here, I refer to the Ombudsman’s ruling J.no. 2003-0322-401.
I regret that the matter has gone so far that it is necessary to complain to the Ombudsman in order to bring the government to speak about such a matter of such vitally important scope and of such great popular interest as the decision to go to war must be said to be. One of the fundamental principles of journalism is to hear all parties in the case that is being covered – and in this case, this has turned out to be associated with insurmountable difficulties.
Yours sincerely,
Bo Elkjær, Ekstra Bladet
----- -----
Bo Elkjær shared the prestigious Cavling Prize for journalism, awarded in January 2004, for his investigative reporting of the falsification of the foundation for Denmark's decision to participate in the invasion of Iraq.
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Comments (4 of 4)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Office of International Law
18 January 2006
Dear Bo Elkjær,
The ombudsman of the Danish Parliament has passed on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs your complaint concerning the treatment by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of your request for an interview. In his letter, the ombudsman requests that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responds to your complaint. Against this background, we can state the following:
The Minister of Foreign Affairs daily receives numerous enquiries from both domestic and foreign media who wish to arrange an interview with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Each individual inquiry is given specific appraisal in relation to a plurality of factors, including, in particular, whether the message in the story is judged to be effectively communicated, whether the enquiry has current relevance and the minister's interest, and whether the minister's calendar permits the interview to be conducted. A decision is then made concerning whether or not the enquiry can be accommodated.
Similarly, every single one of your individual interview requests has been given a specific assessment in relation to the above factors.
For the sake of good order, we remark that neither the ordinary principle of equality in administration nor the principle of openness in administration or other legal rules or principles, in the view of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, imposes any obligation on the Minister of Foreign Affairs to accommodate requests for interviews. We moreover remark that in those instances in which the Minister of Foreign Affairs chooses not to give an interview, the general public, including journalists, may still obtain information pursuant to the administrative rules on public access rights.
Yours sincerely,
Thomas Winkler
Assistant Director
Received: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 23:41:00 +0100
Thread-Topic: Request for public access rights
From: "Bo Elkjær"
To: um@um.dk, permol@um.dk
To Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller
Thank you for showing signs of life!
I understand that for two and a half years, and most recently for the last 163 consecutive days, you have declined to participate in a interview with Ekstra Bladet about the war in Iraq on the basis of specific assessments "in relation to a plurality of factors, including, in particular, whether the message in the story is judged to be effectively communicated, whether the enquiry has current relevance and the minister's interest, and whether the minister's calendar permits the interview to be conducted", to use your assistant director Thomas Winkler's formulation in his letter of 18 January 2006.
It is reassuring to know that my very many enquiries have been given individual assessment. This was also a remarkable achievement, given that I can see that you personally delete my e-mails without reading them.
But let us leave that aside.
Your assistant director also writes: "We moreover remark that in those instances in which the Minister of Foreign Affairs chooses not to give an interview, the general public, including journalists, may still obtain information pursuant to the administrative rules on public access rights."
Am I to understand this literally? Does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mean that I am entitled to public access rights in relation to the information you do not wish to give in an interview?
That is fine by me.
1: In that case, I hereby request public access rights concerning the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' specific evaluations of interview requests from journalist Bo Elkjær, Ekstra Bladet. The request for public access rights encompasses all ministerial files, letters, e-mails, documents, memoranda, etc., relating to the specific evaluations of the plurality of factors, including, in particular, whether the messages in the stories are judged to be effectively communicated, whether the enquiries have current relevance and the minister's interest, and whether the minister's calendar permits the interview to be conducted.
I would like to be sent complete photocopies of all documents and files relating to the case.
I request a rapid response, and refer in this connection to section 16 of the Public Access to Information Act and the Ministry of Justice's guide to the Public Access to Information Act, which states that the press should be given particular assistance.
2: For the sake of good order I would also like to request public access rights to the Minister of Foreign Affairs' calendar in the period from 18 June 2003 until the present date. I would like to be sent complete photocopies of all documents and files relating to the case.
I request a rapid response, and refer in this connection to section 16 of the Public Access to Information Act and the Ministry of Justice's guide to the Public Access to Information Act, which states that the press should be given particular assistance.
3: For the sake of good order I would also like to request public access rights to all of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' files, letters, e-mails, documents, memoranda, etc., concerning enquiries from domestic and foreign journalists and media regarding interview agreements in the period from 18 June 2003 to the present date. I would like to be sent complete photocopies of all documents and files relating to the case.
I request a rapid response, and refer in this connection to section 16 of the Public Access to Information Act and the Ministry of Justice's guide to the Public Access to Information Act, which states that the press should be given particular assistance.
Oh, and finally: I am still very interested in obtaining an agreement for an interview. Couldn't we find a space in the diary for this interview, on the basis of a specific evaluation of a plurality of factors, including whether the messages of the story of the war in Iraq will be effectively communicated, whether the request for an interview on the war in Iraq is of current relevance, whether the story of the war in Iraq has the minister's interest, and whether the minister's calendar permits the carrying out of an interview on the war in Iraq?
Yours sincerely,
Bo Elkjær
Ekstra Bladet
PERSONAL SECRETARY
Copenhagen, 25 January 2006
CHK/230-0178
Journalist Bo Elkjær
Ekstra Bladet
Frederiksgade 33
8000 Aarhus C
Thank you for your enquiries in the period 6 October 2005 to today's date regarding requests for an interview with the Prime Minister, which the Prime Minister has asked me to answer.
In conformity with the letter of 5 October 2005 which you have received from the Prime Minister's Department regarding your requests for an interview, the ministry must reiterate that the Prime Minister has nothing further to add in relation to the answer he has given to the Danish Parliament and the general public on the subject, and with which you are already familiar.
With respect to your complaint to the ombudsman of the Danish Parliament of 28 November 2005, the Prime Minister's Department remarks that, as stated in the white paper of 1443/2004 on the guidance and assistance of civil servants, it must be assumed that the Prime Minister possesses vary wide powers of discretion concerning the interviews in which he desires to participate. It is thus the view of the Prime Minister's Department that there is no obligation to accommodate your request for an interview.
Yours sincerely,
Sune Stamp Sørensen
Personal Secretary
: For the sake of good order I would also like to request public access rights to the Minister of Foreign Affairs' calendar in the period from 18 June 2003 until the present date. I would like to be sent complete photocopies of all documents and files relating to the case.
I request a rapid response, and refer in this connection to section 16 of the Public Access to Information Act and the Ministry of Justice's guide to the Public Access to Information Act, which states that the press should be given particular assistance.
3: For the sake of good order I would also like to request public access rights to all of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' files, letters, e-mails, documents, memoranda, etc., concerning enquiries from domestic and foreign journalists and media regarding interview agreements in the period from 18 June 2003 to the present date. I would like to be sent complete photocopies of all documents and files relating to the case.
I request a rapid response, and refer in this connection to section 16 of the Public Access to Information Act and the Ministry of Justice's guide to the Public Access to Information Act, which states that the press should be given particular assistance.
Oh, and finally: I am still very interested in obtaining an agreement for an interview. Couldn't we find a space in the diary for this interview, on the basis of a specific evaluation of a plurality of factors, including whether the messages of the story of the war in Iraq will be effectively communicated, whether the request for an interview on the war in Iraq is of current relevance, whether the story of the war in Iraq has the minister's interest, and whether the minister's calendar permits the carrying out of an interview on the war in Iraq?
Yours sincerely,
Bo Elkjær
Ekstra Bladet
-who are they?