The United States was \u00c5\u201cmisusing\u201d a decades-old spying treaty it had with Germany, a sign of how the US tramples on the rights of countries, according to an American investigative reporter.\n<\/p>\n
On Friday, Germany canceled a surveillance agreement it had with the US and Britain from the 1960\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s in reaction to the spying practices of the US National Security Agency, which was revealed by American whistle blower Edward Snowden in June.\n<\/p>\n
Secret documents obtained by German magazine Der Spiegel from Snowden in June showed that the US has spied on various EU institutions and offices.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cThis is another example of the fallout from the Snowden revelations,\u201d David Lindorff said on Saturday.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cWhat we\u00e2\u201e\u00a2re seeing is how the US has trampled on the rights of countries all around the world with this kind of NSA spying,\u201d Lindorff said.\n<\/p>\n
He added that although some German leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel supported the spying, they cancelled the treaty due to public outrage and to show voters they\u00e2\u201e\u00a2re taking the issue seriously.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cThe cancellation of the administrative agreements, which we have pushed for in recent weeks, is a necessary and proper consequence of the recent debate about protecting personal privacy,” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement.\n<\/p>\n
Observers say the cancellation appears largely symbolic and isn\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t likely to prevent future intelligence gathering inside Germany by the US.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cThe US has basically implied that it\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s not going to stop the spying even though the treaty has been abrogated, Lindorff said. \u00c5\u201cThat\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s astonishing. It\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s just in your face we don\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t care.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
AHT\/ARA<\/p>\n