German
leader Angela Merkel is coming under increasing pressure to act on the
NSA spying scandal after it was revealed Washington spooks eavesdropped
on the country's top news magazine as well as politicians.
Der
Spiegel, a publication which enjoys a high level of trust among
readers, politicians and the media classes in Europe, fell victim to the
surveillance unleashed on Mrs Merkel and her top lieutenants.
The
magazine said on Friday it learned through the Wikileaks platform that,
four years ago, the CIA head - and NSA chief - in Berlin met with
senior German politicians and 'urged' them to take action against a
lawmaker accused of leaking intelligence information to Spiegel
journalists
The alleged
informant, Hans-Josef Vorbeck, later found himself shuffling paper in an
archive instead of dealing with sensitive material - a move widely seen
as Berlin bowing to Washington's wishes.
Germany,
which has cherished a free press ever since the overthrow of Nazism, is
more bitter about the Spiegel row than the surveillance of top
politicians.
One
German journalist told Radio Bavaria: 'This is a scandalous assault on a
free press, a scandalous assault on the dignity of journalists and
their craft. America perpetually claims it is acting in the interests of
free people everywhere, but when you learn of dirty tricks like this,
one must question this.'
For
its part, Der Spiegel said the information gleaned from private
conversations can only have come from the NSA. It said on Friday: 'It is
becoming increasingly clear that representatives of the German
government at best looked away as America violated the law, at worst
supported them.'
Other
media noted that Spiegel could be seen as a legitimate target by
intelligence operatives as it has in the past published many stories
about the NSA spying operation which has frustrated and annoyed
Washington.
The
media revelations came after it was announced by the whistleblower
platform that Mrs Merkel, her economics minister and the finance
minister were allegedly bugged in a long-running programme stretching
back to the 1990's.
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