The German opposition is threatening legal action against the government unless it shares detailed information on the extent of ties between the German BND and the NSA. Meanwhile Germany’s top prosecutor has launched an investigation into the latest leaks
“Merkel has to show
now whether she wants to explain it or cover it up,”
Konstantin von Notz, MP of the Green party told DPA. Meanwhile
Green leader Martina Renner warned of a possible lawsuit if the
government fails to investigate the issue.
Another member of the opposition Left Party also requested more
information from Merkel’s government, in particular Interior
Minister Thomas de Maiziere and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
Steinmeier about the BND’s “assistance” to the NSA.
“This appears to be reaching a criminal dimension,”
Christian Stroebele, a senior Greens member of parliament, told
the Rheinische Post newspaper.
READ MORE: BND helped NSA spy on EU politicians
companies ‘against German interests’
“If we do not get an insight, it means that the spies, who
broke the law, are protected,” Martina Renner of the Left
party said. The government “has to decide, whose side it is
on.”
Some members of the CDU’s ruling coalition partner, the Social
Democrats (SPD), have called for de Maiziere’s resignation.
According to reports based on Edward Snowden’s leaks, the BND has
collaborated with the NSA for at least a decade. It engaged in
industrial and political espionage, with targets ranging from
Chancellor Angela Merkel to the French government and the
European Commission – and it has allegedly shared at least some
of the information with the American colleagues.
Airbus has already threatened a lawsuit over matters pertaining
to industrial espionage since the revelations. “We are alarmed
because there is concrete suspicion of industrial espionage,” the
European aviation consortium said.
READ MORE: Airbus goes to court over reports of
NSA/BND espionage
The controversial spying issue has been at the center of debate
in Germany since the scandal first made headlines in 2013. People
took to the streets to protest against government surveillance
practices. Yet despite a loud reaction from the government, very
little has been done to openly investigate and punish those
responsible.
In light of the criticism and a call for action by the
opposition, the German federal prosecutors office said, that it
will look into the accusations. “A preliminary investigation
has been started,” the spokesman for the prosecutor’s office
said Sunday.
In March 2014, the Bundestag established a parliamentary
committee to investigate US surveillance activities in Germany.
Yet German authorities failed to do anything to seriously address
the issue. The parliamentary investigators have demanded a draft
of the government’s spy list by Thursday, DW reported.