Friday, June 08, 2012

(STICKY) Opposition petition donors through Henry's lawyer

COMMENT - The extremely corrupt and useless MMD opposition are taking the 'human rights' route back to power. More on Robert Amsterdam. He is a Colour Revolution specialist who undermines national institutions in favour of 'The West' (corporations) and against the interests of the people and democracy. Read the MMD/UPND's 'Open Letter' at the Robert Amsterdam website. Also see: (ROBERT AMSTERDAM) Open Letter to Donor Community of Zambia On his work in Thailand (from Globalist Lawyer Attends Color Revolution Rebranding, by Tony Cartalucci):

" Just as Robert Amsterdam is doing in Russia, where he is using his "defense" of Khodorkovsky as a point of leverage to support US-backed mobs in Moscow's streets, his defense of Thaksin and his red shirts also aims not at defending his clients legally, but at using their case to undermine and ultimately overturn the sovereign institutions of Thailand. It is done in a concerted effort with the US State Department, the corporate media, and a vast network of US and European subsidized NGOs sowing sedition throughout Thailand itself. "


According to the LandDestroyer blog, he is a corporatist activist whose lawfirm, Amsterdam & Peroff is a corporate member of Chatham House (as are the BBC and De Beers, among others). Robert Amsterdam clients include Thaksin Shinawatra (Carlyle Group adviser) of Thailand (Source: disclosures.house.gov) and imprisoned billionaire mining swindler Mikhail Khodorkovsky (Open Russia Foundation). Read: Notorious meddler Robert Amsterdam back in Thailand, by Tony Cartalucci, and Globalist Page: Robert Amsterdam A lesson in intellectual dishonesty and international meddling, by Tony Cartalucci. Also read The Post's editorial, The opposition and their mercenary Amsterdam. He is doing the same thing in Thailand. I haven't gotten to the bottom of this, so stay tuned.

Opposition petition donors through Henry's lawyer
By Kombe Chimpinde
Fri 08 June 2012, 13:25 CAT

SOME opposition political parties have engaged Robert Amsterdam as their consultant in their petition to the donor community over their fight with PF and President Michael Sata. But Wynter Kabimba said it was shameful for the opposition to rush to the donor community to petition the PF government over matters that could be handled internally.

In an open letter addressed to the donor community written and signed by the party leaders and Amsterdam, they contested several highlighted events that had taken place under PF.

"The developments outlined below, which have taken place under the Patriotic Front administration of President Michael Chilufya Sata, have contributed to a rapid erosion of public trust across all of Zambia's institutions of government, resulting in a crisis of confidence," the letter dated June 6 , 2012 reads in part.

"Providers of foreign aid can no longer trust the Zambian government at its word to observe the law or fulfill its promises, and steps must be taken to monitor and ensure that these critical resources are not diverted away from their intended purposes."

The opposition political party leaders who included Pastor Nevers Mumba, Hakainde Hichilema, Charles Milupi, Sakwiba Sikota and Edwin Sakala and lawyer Amsterdam, stated that it was their concern that continued unconditional donor support to the PF administration would further the disturbing trends that represented a sharp departure from the laws, norms, traditions, and constitutional culture of the country.

[The useless and corrupt MMD/UPND opposition are trying the 'human rights' track of 'opposition', which now seems to be standardized in the anti-democratic (in that the people have nothing to do with it and it overturns democratic elections) corporatist movements, like the MDC. From the Niqnaq blog:

" Freedom Now specializes in “political prisoners” from various regions around the world that attract the attention of globalist ambitions. Leveraging these “human rights abuses” affords the globalists a perceived moral high ground from which they can exert pressure on target nations. This is very similar to the operation being run by Chatham House globalist Robert Amsterdam of Amsterdam & Peroff, who is defending western-backed Mikhail Khodorkovsky to ratchet up pressure on Russia, and Thaksin Shinawatra to exert pressure on Thailand. "

- MrK]


According to one petition, President Sata had engaged in a concerted effort to install family members and friends in all key positions of the country's economic management; assaulted the independence of the judiciary, and; systematically eliminated democratic rights of the political opposition and freedom of expression, among other things.

"Given the alarming circumstances related to the deterioration of governance in Zambia, we are calling on the donor community to closely monitor compliance of programmes by the state, and where possible, work directly with recipient groups to ensure against diversion of resources by unaccountable state officials. In these circumstances it is reasonable for the donor community to ask basic questions concerning the intentions and motives of the Patriotic Front government," the letter stated.

But Kabimba, who is PF secretary general, said opposition political party leaders were not showing any allegiance to the country.

"We are aware Mr Amsterdam is arriving in Zambia tomorrow (yesterday), as a consultant of the opposition political parties that helped in the writing of the text of this letter," he said.

"It is high time the Zambians had a leadership that is proud of this country, a leadership in the opposition political party that is nationalistic, owes its allegiance to the people of Zambia and this group is not showing their allegiance to this country. It is not a leadership that you can put to the benefit of the interest of the Zambian people."

Kabimba said that the opposition political leaders had traits of treachery that Zambians must condemn.

"This is a group that can easily sell out to interests that are foreign to this country. For them to take pride in a lawyer like Amsterdam who is representing fugitives like Henry Banda, from the corruption and economic mismanagement of this country and his father's regime under the pretext that they are championing democracy, must be shameful to these colleagues of ours," he said.

Kabimba explained that the PF had an open-door policy and would listen to anyone who wanted to make a contribution to the country.

"At no time have we said we, ourselves, in the PF are saints or angels and cannot make mistakes and because of that, we are open to views that can remedy our mistakes in the governance of this country," Kabimba said.

Kabimba said the PF were exercising among other things self-internal criticism within the party and wanted the same to apply outside the party.

"There is no need for our colleagues to expend their energies to be writing the donor community before they raise these issues with us as a party and government. The PF was voted for by the people of Zambia and some of the people in this letter stood and campaigned before the people of Zambia that between Hakainde Hichilema and Sata, they would vote for Sata," Kabimba said.

"The donor community and diplomats are not here to govern this country. They are here to represent their governments. The government is dealing with the same donor community on a daily basis. They interact with our ministers and bureaucrats in government and they have more information than even what the opposition political parties know," he said.

On the issue of nepotism, Kabimba said that the President appointed qualified people, despite their relation to him.

He dismissed claims by the opposition in the letter that President Sata was stifling freedom of expression.

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4 Comments:

At 9:16 PM , Blogger MrK said...

FOLLOW-UP:

(ZAMBIA REPORT) Rupiah Banda’s Lawyer Links Sata’s Threats to Bush Letter
Posted by: George Mwenya Posted date: July 09, 2012

Robert Amsterdam, an international lawyer acting on behalf of former President Rupiah Banda and Henry Banda, has issued a statement today arguing that President Michael Sata’s decision to threaten the former president for having written a letter apologizing to George W. Bush reveals the personal and political motivations behind the government’s alleged “campaign of defamation” against political opponents.

“It is now transparently clear that it is President Sata himself who is personally guiding the crackdown against the political opposition, along with key officials such as Wynter Kabimba and Mutembo Nchito,” said Mr. Amsterdam, who represents former President Banda and his son Henry Banda. ”For months this government has carried out a trial by headline of my clients and many other political opponents devoid of any real legal merit, and now that everyone can see the highly personal and arbitrary way this government conducts itself, it is time for us to make the most basic request: that the Sata government stop abusing the law.”

On July 4, President Sata held a press conference with George W. Bush during which he described the United States as a “colonialist” country who had come back to repay what they had stolen from Africa. Government representatives insist that Sata’s comments were meant as a lighthearted joke, but others have taken it very seriously, including the former President Rupiah Banda, who authored a letter of apology to President Bush.

According to Amsterdam, the legal team is appealing to several foreign governments to raise awareness of the Sata government’s instrumentalization of the legal system to persecute political opponents, and to set forth all the facts that prove the innocence of Rupiah Banda, Henry Banda, and other victims before the campaign of defamation spread in state propaganda outlets.

Mr. Amsterdam has made several critical statements against the current leadership in Zambia in recent months. He has particularly focused on the relationship between Fred M’membe, the editor of the Post Newspaper, and Michael Sata, both in interviews and letters. Mr. Amsterdam was also one of the signatories of an open letter to the international donor community signed by the majority of opposition leaders, which criticized the Patriotic Front government’s placement of Sata’s family members throughout the Ministry of Finance. As a result of that letter, President Sata threatened to file a lawsuit against Mr. Amsterdam.

 
At 1:16 PM , Blogger MrK said...

FOLLOW-UP 2:

(ZAMBIAN REPORTS)Amsterdam Demands Retraction of False Rupiah Banda Article by The Post
Posted by: Peter Adamu Posted date: July 26, 2012

Zambian former president Rupiah Banda’s international lawyer has accused The Post Newspapers of publishing false articles to attack the PF government’s political opponents.

Robert Amsterdam in a statement to QFM news says the Post Newspapers Limited is acting like a propaganda tool for the PF government.

On June 12 and 13, 2012, The Post Newspapers published two articles alleging that the former President Banda suffered a home robbery in which large amounts of cash went missing.

The Post Newspaper of Zambia has published a number of verifiably false news articles to attack political opponents of the government, says Robert Amsterdam, acting on behalf of the former President Rupiah Banda.

Amsterdam says he has a letter from the Zambian Inspector General of Police to The Post Newspaper indicating that the story published by the post was false.

He adds that a copy of the letter from the Zambian Inspector-General of the Police has been published on his website.

Former President Banda has denied the allegations as pure fiction, says Amsterdam.

Mr. Amsterdam has since demanded that The Post retracts the article.

 
At 1:12 PM , Blogger MrK said...

(LUSAKATIMES) High Court throws out application by Robert Amsterdam alleging that he has been denied Visa to enter Zambia
Time Posted: May 20, 2014 7:06 am

THE Lusaka High Court has thrown out an application by Former President Rupiah Banda’s lawyer, Robert Amsterdam alleging that the Zambian Government has denied him a Visa to enter the country.

This is in a case in which President Micheal Sata had sued Mr Amsterdam, the Zambia Daily Nation Newspapers and managing director, Richard Sakala seeking an injunction to restrain the defendants from publishing any articles against him.

Mr Amsterdam then raised a preliminary issue before the high court deputy registrar, Chilombo Phiri accusing the Zambian Government of having denied him a Visa to enter the country for the purpose of defending this court action according to Article 18(9) 4, of the Constitution. Ms Justice Chilombo threw out the application.

He later appealed against the dismissing of his application before the high court, and the matter was handled by Judge Mubanga Kondolo who also yesterday dismissed the application on grounds that Mr Amsterdam did not provide proof that he had been barred from entering the country.

“All the reliefs sought are based on Constitutional provisions, in seeking protection from the perceived violation of his fundamental rights, the appellant should have filed a petition, on that basis, the appeal is dismissed,” Mr Justice Kondolo said.

Mr Justice Kondolo had however allowed Mr Amsterdam to file a petition because it was a pertinent issue.

Mr Amsterdam had asked the court to stay proceedings in this matter pending the hearing of his application but had also been thrown out as well the other application to set aside the writ on grounds that he ought to have made a separate application seeking an order to compel the State to grant him entry into the country to defend himself.

Mr Justice Kondolo has since directed that the main matter in which Mr Sata was seeking an injunction to restrain the defendants from publishing articles on him should proceed and that parties be at liberty to apply for Orders for Directions or to file Consent Orders for Directions.

“In the meantime, the main matter shall proceed and the parties are at liberty to apply for Orders for Directions or to file Consent Orders for Directions,” Mr Justice Kondolo said.

 
At 3:07 AM , Blogger MrK said...

Robert Amsterdam's talk on:

(YOUTUBE) "Disruption and the Weaponization of Law"

" Robert Amsterdam, an international lawyer who has intensively worked on high-level political cases in more than a dozen countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, argues that the political pressure being applied against judicial systems and prosecutors has resulted in a crisis of legitimacy and weakened institutions. International law and foreign policy have been weaponized while individual entrepreneurs now face risks unimagined in years past. Drawing comparisons between his own client experiences facing down politically-charged cases, Amsterdam proposes that companies must undertake corporate foreign policies to help them navigate these challenges and protect against the next challenges of the future. "

 

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