Biodun.BBC: UK Foreign Office

Showing posts with label UK Foreign Office. Show all posts

Sunday, July 7, 2019

Trump administration 'uniquely dysfunctional', says UK ambassador to U.S

July 8, 2019 05H:31 GMT/ZULU

by Emily Straton and Biodun Iginla, BBC News and Reuters, London

LONDON - Britain’s ambassador to the United States described President Donald Trump’s administration as “dysfunctional”, “clumsy” and “inept”, the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported, citing a series of confidential memos.

The report drew ire from Trump, who said the British ambassador, Kim Darroch, “did not serve the UK well.”

In memos to the British government which date from 2017 to the present, Darroch said Trump “radiates insecurity” and advises officials in London that to deal with him effectively “you need to make your points simple, even blunt”.

“We don’t really believe this Administration is going to become substantially more normal; less dysfunctional; less unpredictable; less faction riven; less diplomatically clumsy and inept,” Darroch wrote in one, according to the newspaper.

In others, the newspaper said he had described the administration as “uniquely dysfunctional” and that media reports about White House “knife fights” are “mostly true”.

Speaking to reporters as he departed Morristown, New Jersey, Trump was dismissive of the report. “We’ve had our little ins and outs with a couple of countries and I’d say that the UK and the ambassador has not served the UK well, I can tell you that.”

“We are not big fans of that man and he has not served the UK well so I can understand and I can say things about him but I won’t bother,” Trump said, referring to Darroch.

Darroch wrote that “we could also be at the beginning of a downward spiral, rather than just a rollercoaster: something could emerge that leads to disgrace and downfall.”

But he also warned British officials not to write Trump off, saying there was a “credible path” to him winning a second term in office. He said Trump may “emerge from the flames, battered but intact, like (Arnold) Schwarzenegger in the final scenes of The Terminator.”

“SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP”

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said the public would expect ambassadors “to provide ministers with an honest, unvarnished assessment of the politics in their country”.

“Their views are not necessarily the views of ministers or indeed the government. But we pay them to be candid,” he said.

“It’s important that our ambassadors can offer their advice and for it to remain confidential. Our team in Washington have strong relations with the White House and no doubt these will withstand such mischievous behavior.”

The Foreign Office later said a formal investigation into the leak would take place.

In a memo written last month, Darroch described confusion within the administration over Trump’s decision to call off a military strike on Iran, and that the president citing the number of predicted casualties as the reason he had changed his mind “didn’t stand up”.

“It’s more likely that he was never fully on board and that he was worried about how this apparent reversal of his 2016 campaign promises would look come 2020,” Darroch wrote, adding that Trump could still trigger a conflict with Iran.

“Just one more Iranian attack somewhere in the region could trigger yet another Trump U-turn. Moreover, the loss of a single American life would probably make a critical difference.”

During a state visit to Britain last month, Trump was effusive about the “special relationship” between the United States and Britain, promising a “phenomenal” trade deal after Britain leaves the European Union.

The Mail on Sunday reported that in a message sent after that visit, Darroch said that the president and his team had been “dazzled” by the visit and Britain might be “flavor of the month” but “this is still the land of America First”.

Thursday, April 25, 2019

BREAKING AND UPDATE: Sri Lanka attacks: Death toll revised down by 'about 100'

Security personnel check bags in Colombo in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, 25 April 2019 — Image captionSecurity is tight in the aftermath of the attacks

by Susan Kumar and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Colombo

Sri Lanka has revised down the death toll from Sunday's blasts by more than 100, to "about 253", the health ministry says.

It has blamed a calculation error.

Suicide bombers struck hotels and churches in the Colombo area and the eastern city of Batticaloa. Hundreds were injured, officials said.

Most of those killed were Sri Lankans, but dozens of foreigners were also casualties. Nine people are suspected of carrying out the attacks.

Police have continued carrying out raids and have issued photographs of seven people wanted in connection with the attacks.

The authorities blamed a local Islamist extremist group, National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), soon after the blasts but say the bombers must have had outside help.

The Islamic State group said it was behind the attacks and published a video showing eight men but provided no evidence of direct involvement.

In other developments:

Hundreds of Muslims, fearing revenge attacks, have been fleeing the city of Negombo, site of one of the attacks

Sri Lanka's defence secretary, Hemasiri Fernando, the top non-elected official at the department, announced his resignation on Thursday in response to intelligence failures

The country's Catholic Church has announced the suspension of all church services

Police say more than 70 people have now been arrested

The UK Foreign Office is now warning against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka

Why was the initial death toll wrong?

Sri Lankan Deputy Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said morgues had provided inaccurate figures.

Another official, the head of health services, told Reuters news agency there had been so many body parts it was "difficult to give a precise figure".

According to the health ministry, all autopsies had been completed late on Thursday and it transpired that some victims had been counted more than once.

BBC World Service South Asia editor Jill McGivering says the revised figure comes as the government is struggling to restore its credibility - amid criticism of its apparent failure to respond to intelligence warnings before the attacks.

It's also battling to counter fake news and false rumours about the crisis, she says. This sudden dramatic revision is unlikely to help.

BBC graphic showing death toll from the Easter Sunday bomb attacks in Sri Lanka, 25 April 2019

What is the situation with the Muslim minority?

Muslims in Sri Lanka are reporting feeling fearful and say they are facing persecution.

Many of those in Negombo belong to a minority sect, the Ahmadi. Some have been sheltering in a mosque under police protection.

Ahmadi Muslims identify as Muslim and follow the Koran, but are viewed by many orthodox Muslims as heretical.

Many of those living in Sri Lanka have fled from persecution elsewhere, including Pakistan.

However since Sunday's attacks some have reported physical attacks, being kicked out by landlords or having their homes broken into.

"Today these refugees have become refugees again in Sri Lanka. They have been displaced for a second time," Ruki Fernando from Inform, a Sri Lankan rights group, said.

Auranzeb Zabi, an Ahmadi Pakistani refugee who has lived in Sri Lanka for two years, told the New York Times he had been forced from his home in Negombo on Wednesday by a mob with weapons.

Mr Zabi reported being followed, and along with his son, beaten.

Associated Press reports that a group of 200 have been sheltering inside their mosque inside Negombo while 500 more are said to have sought shelter 20 miles away.

"The people in Pakistan attacked us and say we're not Muslims," Tariq Ahmed, 58, told AP. "Then in Sri Lanka, people attack us because they say we are Muslims."

The Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has admitted that some Ahmadi have been subject to attacks.

Of Sri Lanka's 21-million population, just under 10% are Muslims.