Interview: CoE should initiate probe following revelations of NSA spying on Paris: parliamentary rapporteur

Following recent revelations about spying by the American National Security Agency (NSA) on three current and former French presidents, Pieter Omtzigt, the author of a report on mass surveillance for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), has called for an investigation by Council of Europe (CoE) leaders.

"The Secretary General of the Council of Europe should use his right to start an article 52 investigation," declared Pieter Omtzigt in an interview with Xinhua.

A Dutch Christian-Democrat member of the PACE assembly, Omtzigt recalled Article 52 of the European Convention on Human Rights (which includes the right to privacy), a procedure than could be used. It has already been used in an effective manner after revelations of the existence, in Europe, of secret detention centers run by the American CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), he added.

"[European] countries had to admit that they had cooperated and a number of countries decided to stop with the secret detention centres," explained the PACE Rapporteur. His report on mass surveillance, adopted by huge majority on April 21 this year, called for the urgent adoption of an "Intelligence Codex" putting in place standard rules of procedure between secret services in allied countries.

"The BND/NSA scandal breaking in Berlin is a case in point that an 'Intelligence Codex'... is urgently needed," insisted Omtzigt, referring to the illegal tapping of the private phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying it "shows that parliamentary surveillance of the secret services must be strengthened."

In response to the reactions in Paris, judged lukewarm by many observers, the rapporteur told Xinhua that "the French government does not react with one voice" and that officials "could have reacted more firmly."

Omtzigt otherwise clarified that a French parliamentarian had demanded the closure of the building of the United States Embassy in Paris which shelters the phone tapping services. He praised the fact that the French Minister of Justice, Christiane Taubira made "a clear appeal to grant political asylum to Mr. Snowden" and pointed out that PACE, for its part, had only just recently called on the U.S. to allow the whistle-blower "to return to his home country without fear of criminal proceedings in conditions which do not allow him to raise a public interest defense."

In his report, Pieter Omtzigt, doesn't hesitate to express his admiration for Edward Snowden -- a man which the United States considers as a "traitor" and a "criminal": "His courage and his devotion to the cause of liberty and privacy on the internet, despite the danger that this represents for his safety and freedom, demands the greatest respect."

The avalanche of revelations in regard to the utilization of massive means of surveillance have provoked serious concerns for the parliamentarian.

Another subject of concern for Pieter Omtzigt is the ongoing development of a veritable arms race of data encryption techniques. "Collection and storage of the current massive amount of information also leads to problems in analyzing and securing those data... And lots of resources are diverted from the real problems like fighting terrorism," he warned. Enditem