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| 2016: Danish fighter aircraft are now in action over Iraqi skies. Photo: Heine Pedersen/Scanpix |
Denmark to keep Iraq war document under wraps
Published: 12 Jul 2016 17:29 GMT+02:00
Denmark's parliamentary ombudsman has
confirmed that a secret note regarding the 2003 Iraq War, relating to a
meeting between involving former Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen,
will be kept from public view.
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In a near mirror image of last week's publication of the Chilcot report
in the United Kingdom, after which former British PM Tony Blair came in
for strong criticism, the Danish document will be kept out of public
view, leaving Rasmussen shielded from similar scrutiny.
After the publication of the Chilcot report, a large quantity of
information, including records of communications between Blair and
former U.S. President George W. Bush, have been made available for
public download.
But a 14 year-old document written by Rasmussen in the lead-up to the
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 will not be released for public
access, the Danish parliament's ombudsman confirmed to Jyllands-Posten.
The ombudsman statement says that publication of the Danish material is
not in the national interest, since it is potentially damaging to other
countries.
The controversial 2013 Freedom of Information Law (Offentlighedsloven)
enables parliament to keep public records inaccessible to parties with
'no part' in the cases in question. It is a clause in this law that has
enabled the ombudsman to keep the Rasmussen document classified.
The note in question relates to a meeting between Rasmussen and then
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz in 2002, reports
Jyllands-Posten. While the exact contents of the document are unclear,
the Politiken newspaper has previously claimed that Rasmussen was
'doubtful' whether Denmark would offer its support in the campaign to
oust former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Denmark's government later gave its approval to the country's participation in the 2003 war, however.
A number of opposition politicians have now called for the document to
be made public, despite the ombudsman having blocked the move.
"It is regrettable and once again casts doubt over whether we know
everything regarding this case," defence spokesperson Eva Flyvholm of
the Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) party told Jyllands-Posten.
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Marie Krarup of the Danish People's Party told the newspaper that the
document should be put towards a parliament committee, which could then
assess its suitability for publication.
"I support transparancy in principle. But there are sometimes cases in
which this is not possible due to the relationship between foreign
powers and state security. The document could contain information
regarding Denmark's security, which could be used against us," Krarup
said.
In 2015, Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen controversially cancelled a
government inquiry into the Iraq war shortly after taking office.
