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12-14-2005, 06:54 PM
http://spiegel.ivwbox.de/cgi-bin/ivw/CP/1007;/international/c-676/r-3674/p-druckversion/a-390476/be-PB64-L2FydGlrZWw_3/pay-backoffice__/szwprofil-1007?r=http%3A//service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0%2C1518%2C390476%2C00.html&d=13427.998521499801 http://spiegel.ivwbox.de/cgi-bin/ivw/CP/1007;/international/c-676/r-3674/p-druckversion/a-390476/be-PB64-L2FydGlrZWw_3/pay-backoffice__/szwprofil-1007http://www.spiegel.de/cgi-bin/vdz/CP/spiegel/international/c-676/r-3674/p-druckversion/a-390476/be-PB64-L2FydGlrZWw_3/pay-backoffice__/szwprofil-1007 SPIEGEL ONLINE - December 14, 2005, 06:36 PM
URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,390476,00.html (http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,390476,00.html)
CIA Flights in Germany
Steinmeier Hits Back Over CIA Flights
By David Crossland
The controversy over the CIA kidnapping of German citizen Khaled al-Masri reached the floor of German parliament on Wednesday. Naturally, nobody knew anything about it.
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,554600,00.jpg
AP
Steinmeier addresses parliament about al-Masri case.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday angrily denied growing speculation that Berlin has colluded in the secret kidnapping and interrogation of terror suspects by the CIA. Speaking before a special session of the Bundestag, Steinmeier said he and other members of the former government under Gerhard Schröder had faced "irresponsible speculation and suspicions" relating to the kidnapping of Khaled al-Masri, a Lebanese-born German citizen suing the CIA for illegally holding him in an Afghan jail for five months.
Steinmeier, who was Schröder's chief of staff -- a cabinet-level position in Germany -- before becoming foreign minister last month under new Chancellor Angela Merkel, has come under pressure following media allegations that he and other former ministers were told about the kidnapping in 2004 but did nothing to help al-Masri. Al-Masri, who was picked up in Macedonia in late 2003 but released in the late spring of 2004, was apparently mistaken for someone linked to the September 11 attacks.
The case, which also involves criticism that Berlin has been allowing the CIA to use German airspace and airports when flying terror suspects to third countries where they may face torture, has marred Merkel's attempts to repair German relations with the United States. It has also prompted the opposition to accuse Schröder's government of double standards in defying George W. Bush in public over Iraq while secretly helping the CIA to interrogate terror suspects illegally.
"I say in all clarity that neither the government nor the intelligence agencies helped in the abduction of the German citizen al-Masri and I repeat that the former interior minister, foreign minister and I only learned of the abduction after he had been released," said Steinmeier in reference to ex-interior minister Otto Schily and ex-foreign minister Joschka Fischer.
"To put it mildly, I was astonished at recent reports suggesting that if we Germans can't torture suspects we simply pass information on to others who then grab them and beat the desired information out of them," said Steinmeier.
Earlier, Steinmeier as well as Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries and Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble had testified behind closed doors to parliamentary committees looking into al-Masri's case.
Members of the opposition liberal Free Democrats and the Leftwing Party said they weren't satisfied with what they had heard and may call for a parliamentary inquiry.
Gregor Gysi, parliamentary leader of the Left Wing Party, said Schily had withheld information about al-Masri. He also accused the US government of flouting international law in the war on terror and called on Berlin to stop co-operating.
"It's unacceptable. One has to be able to say No - even to friends," he told parliament.
Accusations of Berlin's involvement in illegal methods have been fuelled by reports that German intelligence officers have interrogated two other German citizens, one held in a Syrian jail and one held in Guantanamo Bay.
Steinmeier said: "I have the impression that the Americans are increasingly aware that they must not take European concerns lightly. We have to be able to rely firmly on our American partners to honor bilateral agreements and international law as well as human rights."
He said he hoped the United States and Europe would arrive at a common definition of torture because they would "drift apart" if they failed to.
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2005
All Rights Reserved
Reproduction only allowed with the permission of SPIEGELnet GmbH
URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,390476,00.html (http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,390476,00.html)
CIA Flights in Germany
Steinmeier Hits Back Over CIA Flights
By David Crossland
The controversy over the CIA kidnapping of German citizen Khaled al-Masri reached the floor of German parliament on Wednesday. Naturally, nobody knew anything about it.
http://www.spiegel.de/img/0,1020,554600,00.jpg
AP
Steinmeier addresses parliament about al-Masri case.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday angrily denied growing speculation that Berlin has colluded in the secret kidnapping and interrogation of terror suspects by the CIA. Speaking before a special session of the Bundestag, Steinmeier said he and other members of the former government under Gerhard Schröder had faced "irresponsible speculation and suspicions" relating to the kidnapping of Khaled al-Masri, a Lebanese-born German citizen suing the CIA for illegally holding him in an Afghan jail for five months.
Steinmeier, who was Schröder's chief of staff -- a cabinet-level position in Germany -- before becoming foreign minister last month under new Chancellor Angela Merkel, has come under pressure following media allegations that he and other former ministers were told about the kidnapping in 2004 but did nothing to help al-Masri. Al-Masri, who was picked up in Macedonia in late 2003 but released in the late spring of 2004, was apparently mistaken for someone linked to the September 11 attacks.
The case, which also involves criticism that Berlin has been allowing the CIA to use German airspace and airports when flying terror suspects to third countries where they may face torture, has marred Merkel's attempts to repair German relations with the United States. It has also prompted the opposition to accuse Schröder's government of double standards in defying George W. Bush in public over Iraq while secretly helping the CIA to interrogate terror suspects illegally.
"I say in all clarity that neither the government nor the intelligence agencies helped in the abduction of the German citizen al-Masri and I repeat that the former interior minister, foreign minister and I only learned of the abduction after he had been released," said Steinmeier in reference to ex-interior minister Otto Schily and ex-foreign minister Joschka Fischer.
"To put it mildly, I was astonished at recent reports suggesting that if we Germans can't torture suspects we simply pass information on to others who then grab them and beat the desired information out of them," said Steinmeier.
Earlier, Steinmeier as well as Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries and Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble had testified behind closed doors to parliamentary committees looking into al-Masri's case.
Members of the opposition liberal Free Democrats and the Leftwing Party said they weren't satisfied with what they had heard and may call for a parliamentary inquiry.
Gregor Gysi, parliamentary leader of the Left Wing Party, said Schily had withheld information about al-Masri. He also accused the US government of flouting international law in the war on terror and called on Berlin to stop co-operating.
"It's unacceptable. One has to be able to say No - even to friends," he told parliament.
Accusations of Berlin's involvement in illegal methods have been fuelled by reports that German intelligence officers have interrogated two other German citizens, one held in a Syrian jail and one held in Guantanamo Bay.
Steinmeier said: "I have the impression that the Americans are increasingly aware that they must not take European concerns lightly. We have to be able to rely firmly on our American partners to honor bilateral agreements and international law as well as human rights."
He said he hoped the United States and Europe would arrive at a common definition of torture because they would "drift apart" if they failed to.
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2005
All Rights Reserved
Reproduction only allowed with the permission of SPIEGELnet GmbH