BERLIN--Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Washington to disclose the full details of U.S. spying in Germany, seeking to deflect domestic criticism that her government had turned a blind eye to American intelligence activities on German soil.
"Germany is not a surveillance state, it's a country of freedom," she said Friday during her annual summer appearance before the Berlin press corps.
Ms. Merkel insisted that her government had been unaware of the National Security Agency's secret surveillance programs--first disclosed by rogue former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden--and demanded that the U.S. respect German law.
Legal experts say the surreptitious monitoring of personal communications would violate Germany's strict privacy laws.
Ms. Merkel struck a less confrontational tone during President Barack Obama's visit to Berlin last month. At the time, she expressed gratitude for U.S. help in thwarting terrorist attacks in Germany while underscoring the need for a proper "balance" in protecting individual privacy.
While the uproar over the NSA programs has begun to wane in the U.S., it shows no signs of doing so in Germany, a country deeply scarred by the abuses of the Nazi Gestapo and East Germany's Stasi secret police.
A series of German media reports suggesting that German authorities may have collaborated in the NSA data-gathering has deepened public fears.
The affair comes at an awkward time for Ms. Merkel, who faces re-election in September. German media have reported that the government had knowledge of the spying and opposition politicians have seized on the issue, casting doubts over government denials.
Despite the political attacks, recent polls suggest she is very likely to win re-election. Yet the effort she has devoted to addressing public concerns underscores the political sensitivities.
Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/german-chancellor-merkel-demands-us-spying-details-20130719-00543#ixzz2Zca1f4Lx
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