timosman
07-02-2015, 08:59 PM
http://www.wsj.com/articles/germany-requests-meeting-with-u-s-ambassador-over-new-spying-leaks-1435850048
BERLIN—The German government on Thursday issued an unusually strong rebuke of U.S. intelligence activities here, warning that spies who break German law would be prosecuted and that continuing revelations of American surveillance were damaging ties between Washington and Berlin.
The government’s statement came after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, met with U.S. Ambassador John Emerson at the Berlin chancellery to discuss newly leaked documents that appeared to show American surveillance of senior German officials.
Mr. Altmaier “made clear that compliance with German law is indispensable and that confirmed violations will be prosecuted,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said. “In addition, such episodes are straining cooperation between German and American intelligence agencies, which is essential for the security of our citizens.”
The documents, published by the website WikiLeaks on Wednesday, replaced Greece as the top story in several major German newspapers on Thursday. The disclosures reignited the two-year-old furor over U.S. surveillance programs that has weighed on bilateral relations and German attitudes toward the U.S.
Bild, the highest-circulation tabloid, splashed “Here’s How the U.S. Eavesdropped on Merkel!” across its front page.
The authenticity of the WikiLeaks documents couldn't be independently confirmed, and the U.S. Embassy here had no immediate comment. Documents published by WikiLeaks in the past have been later confirmed to be authentic. In June, WikiLeaks published documents appearing to show National Security Agency surveillance of French President François Hollande.
The trove disclosed by WikiLeaks included an intercepted 2011 conversation on the eurozone crisis between Ms. Merkel and someone described as her personal assistant. WikiLeaks also published a list of dozens of NSA surveillance targets in Germany, including phone numbers in the Finance Ministry, Economics Ministry and European Central Bank.
The German general prosecutor’s office said it was investigating the WikiLeaks disclosures.
Germany’s furor over NSA activities here began with former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden’s disclosures of U.S. overseas surveillance programs in the summer of 2013. Spying is a particularly sensitive issue here, in part because of the country’s history of state surveillance under the Nazi and East German Communist regimes.
Allegations of U.S. surveillance of Ms. Merkel’s cellphone first surfaced in the fall of 2013, prompting U.S. promises not to monitor her communications in the future. Then, last summer, Germany identified two government employees suspected of passing secrets to the U.S., leading the German government to order the top U.S. intelligence official in the U.S. Embassy in Berlin to leave Germany. And this spring, Germany’s own foreign intelligence agency has been forced to respond to allegations that it helped the NSA snoop on European allies.
“The government has already strengthened its anti-espionage operations since last year,” Mr. Seibert, the government spokesman, said, “and feels itself validated by the latest disclosures.”
BERLIN—The German government on Thursday issued an unusually strong rebuke of U.S. intelligence activities here, warning that spies who break German law would be prosecuted and that continuing revelations of American surveillance were damaging ties between Washington and Berlin.
The government’s statement came after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, met with U.S. Ambassador John Emerson at the Berlin chancellery to discuss newly leaked documents that appeared to show American surveillance of senior German officials.
Mr. Altmaier “made clear that compliance with German law is indispensable and that confirmed violations will be prosecuted,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said. “In addition, such episodes are straining cooperation between German and American intelligence agencies, which is essential for the security of our citizens.”
The documents, published by the website WikiLeaks on Wednesday, replaced Greece as the top story in several major German newspapers on Thursday. The disclosures reignited the two-year-old furor over U.S. surveillance programs that has weighed on bilateral relations and German attitudes toward the U.S.
Bild, the highest-circulation tabloid, splashed “Here’s How the U.S. Eavesdropped on Merkel!” across its front page.
The authenticity of the WikiLeaks documents couldn't be independently confirmed, and the U.S. Embassy here had no immediate comment. Documents published by WikiLeaks in the past have been later confirmed to be authentic. In June, WikiLeaks published documents appearing to show National Security Agency surveillance of French President François Hollande.
The trove disclosed by WikiLeaks included an intercepted 2011 conversation on the eurozone crisis between Ms. Merkel and someone described as her personal assistant. WikiLeaks also published a list of dozens of NSA surveillance targets in Germany, including phone numbers in the Finance Ministry, Economics Ministry and European Central Bank.
The German general prosecutor’s office said it was investigating the WikiLeaks disclosures.
Germany’s furor over NSA activities here began with former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden’s disclosures of U.S. overseas surveillance programs in the summer of 2013. Spying is a particularly sensitive issue here, in part because of the country’s history of state surveillance under the Nazi and East German Communist regimes.
Allegations of U.S. surveillance of Ms. Merkel’s cellphone first surfaced in the fall of 2013, prompting U.S. promises not to monitor her communications in the future. Then, last summer, Germany identified two government employees suspected of passing secrets to the U.S., leading the German government to order the top U.S. intelligence official in the U.S. Embassy in Berlin to leave Germany. And this spring, Germany’s own foreign intelligence agency has been forced to respond to allegations that it helped the NSA snoop on European allies.
“The government has already strengthened its anti-espionage operations since last year,” Mr. Seibert, the government spokesman, said, “and feels itself validated by the latest disclosures.”