NOTE: Below is an article on how how Silvio Berlusconi derailed an anti-GM crop ban at the behest of the U.S. We only know about what happened thanks to Wikileaks.
Despite the repeated efforts of some in the mainstream media to downplay the significance of the Wikileaks' cables, they have been revelatory in the GM arena, often leading to front page articles in the national newpapers of the countries concerned.
This is because they've disclosed the extraordinarily intense U.S. diplomatic pressure being applied right around the world to stop governments representing the interests of their citizens on this issue.
Here are some other examples:
U.S. Embassies used Romania as Trojan horse to force GMOs into Europe - Wikileaks
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/13040
U.S. main force behind Kenya's Biosafety Act
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/12961
State Dept. wants intel on African acceptance of GMOs
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/12706
WikiLeaks: U.S. targets EU over GM crops
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/12775
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/12750
Spain a key ally of pro-GMO America
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/12744
Leaked cables reveal GMO, agrofuel agendas
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/12711
U.S. cables illustrate how the U.S. tried to sway the Vatican
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/12783
There are also many cables about GM in other parts of the world, e.g. Costa Rica, Brazil, Pakistan, India... Why not do your own research? Just type keywords 'genetic' 'biotechnology' 'gmo' here http://cablesearch.org/
GM emerges clearly from the U.S. cables as a key US strategic interest: part of its primary foreign policy agenda along with issues like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Darfur, etc.
Thanks to MADGEAustralia for pointers on Wikileaks.
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WikiCable: Berlusconi derails GMO opponent
Richard Brenneman
eats shoots 'n leaves, 2011 March 10
http://richardbrenneman.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/wikicable-berlusconi-derails-gmo-opponent/
Today's cable brings together two of our favorite themes, the lecherous Silvio "Bunga Bunga" Berlusconi and an American agriculture industry intent on sowing the world with its environmentally dangerous but highly profitable genetically modified crops.
GMOs have been a politically charged issue in Europe, the subject of protracted and often bitter political debates, where the U.S. State Department has repeatedly intervened on behalf of American corporations.
You'll find no better example than in this 13 November 2003 CONFIDENTIAL cable from Charge d'Affaires Emil Skodon at the American embassy in Rome.
Seems Prime Minister Berlusconi's then-Minister of Agriculture Giovanni Alemanno [and current mayor of Rome] is an outspoken foe of GMOs and had vowed to block their introduction into Italy.
Learning that Alemanno intended to introduce regulations barring their introduction into Italy, American Ambassador Melvin Floyd Sembler dropped in on Gianni Letta, Berlusconi’s undersecretary. Letta, unaware of the proposed rule changes, picked up his phone, hit the speaker button and called his boss.
Business as usual ensued, after Berlusconi first osculated the American presidential posterior, or, as Skodon writes, “conveying his continuing support for President Bush’s efforts to spread democracy.
Berlusconi then promised that he would not let Minister Alemanno’s draft decree, as it had been described to him, pass through the Council of Ministers. The Ambassador offered his sincere thanks.
The cable is posted [below].
UPDATE: A response from an Italian anti-GMO activist:
[T]he stop to GMOs was maintained and is still present. Since then not much changed although PDL , where now is Alemao is trying to open the way to GMOs. However 18 of the 19 Regional governments joined the GMO free european regional movement and Agriculture is one of the matters under Regional control. We have now a very strong coalition where the two major small farmers organisations are, along with the Regions, the Slow Food movement and a very large part of the public opinion. The last change by the EU giving freedom to local and national governments to refuse GMOs if considered dangerous for agricultures (23 July-2010) will certainly help us and the movement . Therefore , although Alemanno is now out of the scene and having troubles in Rome, I do not think Berlusconi will even dare opening to GMOs because he is now in a desperate search for new laws against the Italian judges to avoid being convicted for all sorts of illegal activities he has been carrying on.
C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 005149
SIPDIS
USDA FOR OSEC HEGWOOD AND SIMMONS
STATE PASS USDA/FAS BLUM AND E. JONES
STATE PASS USTR
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2013
TAGS: EAGR ETRD TBIO KSCA TSPL EAID IT EUN
SUBJECT: ITALY/BIOTEC”¦
Classified By: CHARGE D’AFFAIRES EMIL SKODON,
FOR REASONS 1.5(B)(D)
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Ref A describes Italian Agriculture Minister Alemanno’s latest gambit to effectively ban biotech crop cultivation in Italy by pushing through an extremely restrictive coexistence decree-law. Given the likely negative consequences of this proposal, not least upon U.S. seed exports to Italy, Ambassador Sembler raised strong objections to Alemanno’s approach in separate meetings this week with Foreign Minister Frattini (Nov. 10), with PM Berlusconi’s top advisor, Prime Ministry Under Secretary Gianni Letta, and with the Prime Minister directly in a phone call from Letta’s office (Nov. 11). Letta and the PM assurred the Ambassador that, either at the technical level or the political level, the draft Alemanno decree-law would be blocked. End Summary.
Meeting with Frattini
””””””””””””””
¶2. (C) As reported Ref B, Ambassador raised Minister Alemanno’s draft coexistence proposal in the context of a Nov. 10 discussion with FM Frattini of the Italian EU Presidency. Frattini said he understood that Alemanno favored taking a harder line on biotech than EU regulations required. Frattini further offered that, to the extent Alemanno’s proposals went further than EU-agreed regulations, he, as Foreign Minister, could argue within the Council of Ministers that Italian policy should stay in line with EU norms.
Meeting with Letta, Berlusconi on Speaker-Phone
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¶3. (C) On November 11, the Ambassador, accompanied by AgAtt and Ecmin, discussed U.S. concerns over the draft decree-law for 30 minutes with PM Berlusconi’s closest advisor, Prime Ministry Under Secretary Gianni Letta. Despite the fact that the proposed draft has been circulating among Italian ministries for several days, Letta appeared to be genuinely unaware of its existence. However, he quickly grasped its significance. Letta commented that Alemanno had been under clear pressure from the EU Commission to lift the so-called Amato Decree (banning four varieties of EU-approved GM corn). “But it sounds to me like he’s going to do it in a way that increases, not decreases, restrictions on biotechnology,” Letta added. Ambassador emphatically agreed. Following a couple of quick phone calls, Letta told the Ambassador that the decree-law was not on the agenda for this week’s Council of Ministers meeting, so no action was imminent.
¶4. (C) Letta then picked up the phone and made another call this time directly to Prime Minister Berlusconi. Letta summarized the issue at hand, put the phone on “speaker” mode, and passed the receiver to Ambassador Sembler. After conveying his continuing support for President Bush’s efforts to spread democracy and wishing the Ambassador well on his trip to Washington for President Ciampi’s visit, Berlusconi then promised that he would not let Minister Alemanno’s draft decree, as it had been described to him, pass through the Council of Ministers. The Ambassador offered his sincere thanks.
¶5. (C) In concluding the discussion, Letta predicted that “technical or procedural” mechanisms could be found to derail the Alemanno draft. But he reiterated that the move could, and would, be blocked at the political level, if that became necessary.
Comment
””””-
¶6. (C) We are greatly encouraged by Berlusconi’s and Letta’s rapid, seemingly decisive response to the Ambassador’s demarche. They provide, we believe, a high degree of probability that Alemanno’s latest gambit will be sidetracked. We fully expect, however, that the Ag Minister will try to find other means to realize his vision of a biotech-free Italy. Alemanno is soon expected to issue the Ministry of Agriculture’s 2004 seed circular stating that the tolerance for biotech in conventional seeds is zero. The seed testing protocol of the circular is expected to stipulate a miniscule threshold of 0.1% for biotech in conventional seeds.
SKODON
NNNN
2003ROME05149 Classification: CONFIDENTIAL