German Government Blocks Ed Snowden From Testifying Before Parliament So As Not To Upset The US
from the we-delicate-flowers dept
A month ago, we wrote about how the German Parliament was opening hearings in the NSA's surveillance of German citizens (including Chancellor Angela Merkel) and that some of the lawmakers wanted Ed Snowden to testify (either in person, or providing evidence remotely). At the time, it was noted that "analysts believe Merkel’s government will find a way to sidestep such a move." And, indeed, that's exactly what's happened. The German government has blocked any such testimony for fear of upsetting the American government.In a letter to members of a parliamentary committee obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung, government officials say a personal invitation for the US whistleblower would "run counter to the political interests of the Federal Republic", and "put a grave and permanent strain" on US-German relations.Because the American government is apparently so insecure that it can't handle Ed Snowden testifying to the German Parliament? Really? Sometimes, when you look at world diplomacy, it looks like a bunch of elementary school kids. What happened to mature adults who can disagree about things without it causing an international incident?
Apparently, the Green Party is looking to challenge this decision, but it seems unlikely to change.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: angela merkel, diplomacy, ed snowden, germany, nsa, surveillance
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
'Move along, nothing to see'
'Nope, nothing to see here, our buddies in the good old USA would never conduct massive data scooping on an indiscriminate, wide level against the German people and politicians, so no need to make a fuss about it or investigate any further.'
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I don't understand German rules, but...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I don't understand German rules, but...
As for the why, well, this might have something to do with it:
'...it has emerged hours before Angela Merkel travels to Washington for a meeting with Barack Obama.'
Though I imagine this is the more likely reason:
'Last June the German foreign ministry rejected Snowden's application for asylum because it was not submitted in person on German soil. If Snowden had been invited as a witness, he could have met these requirements.'
Denying the chance for him to give his testimony in person also means they don't find themselves in the position of scrambling for another reason to deny him asylum, since their previous excuse would be moot at that point, and once he was in Germany there would likely be a pretty hefty push to grant him asylum.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: I don't understand German rules, but...
Maybe my tin-foil band is growing into a hat. I don't know. But the US has been acting the it's the onyl game in town for at least a decade and a half, if not longer.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: I don't understand German rules, but...
Funnily enough, and somewhat on that same topic, one of, if not the main reasons they wanted him to give his testimony in person was worries that the Russians would be able to affect or interfere with his testimony if he did it via video.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Uncle Sam says, "sit", and Germany obeys.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
US-occupied Germany
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
At least now we know what it takes.
The NSA's surveillance of Chancellor Angela Merkel doesn't "put a grave and permanent strain" on US-German relations."
US agents kidnapping, sodomizing, drugging, torturing and shipping a German citizen (Khalid El-Masri) to Afghanistan - then dumping him without papers or money in a third country when they realized they had the wrong person - doesn't "put a grave and permanent strain" on US-German relations."
U.S. officials threatening the German Government to stop them issuing international warrants for those US agents, doesn't "put a grave and permanent strain" on US-German relations."
The US court system's shameful failure in the El-Masri case doesn't "put a grave and permanent strain" on US-German relations."
But... you know.... *questioning* any of this... THAT will "put a grave and permanent strain" on US-German relations."
Glad we cleared that up.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: At least now we know what it takes.
There are of course many ways to intimidate people, and if one method fails to work, there are multiple backups in the US arsenal. We still don't know what proverbial skeletons might be in Angela Merkel's closet (and learned through NSA spying) but such things make for convenient leverage to "influence" people.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: At least now we know what it takes.
you are confusing US-German relations with German-US relations.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
you know, i do believe i will write him in for nearly every office i vote on...
hell yeah...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
A Farce
You can't ask a questionare additional questions based on its answers. Banning someone with evidence from court is just wrong.
It is time all countries upset the US government together.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: A Farce
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ostrich
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Say what
You can only care as much as the other side. But I suppose the other side isn't the USA government. The USA & German governments are on the same side. Its their citizens they are opposing.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
We're tough
I suppose there's a few whiners in our government that would get their feelings hurt, but who cares about them?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Germany still tryin to avoid any conflict. Not surprising after the attrocities of ww2 and the illegal courts.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Children?
When is that not the case?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Time for the other Nations to stand up.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
FIFY
[ link to this | view in chronology ]