Dilma Rousseff Attacks U.S. spying at UN
Dilma Rousseff Attacks U.S. spying at UN
President Dilma Rousseff’s speech at the UN denouncing U.S. cyber espionage may make it difficult to restore "the status quo ante with the U.S.," states AS/COA’s Eric Farnsworth.
Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff took her campaign against US spying to the UN on Tuesday, opening the organisation’s annual general assembly with a strong attack on foreign espionage using the internet.
The president, who last week postponed what would have been Brazil’s first state visit to Washington in nearly two decades over the issue, proposed a set of international norms to guarantee privacy on the internet.
“We are ... confronting a case of grave violations of human rights and civil liberties as well as the invasion and capture of secret information about the activities of companies and above all, disrespect for the national sovereignty of my country,” she told the assembly.
Ms Rousseff’s pursuit of the espionage issue will add to pressure on the U.S. to respond to Brazil’s complaints, with Latin America’s largest country seeking a formal explanation, apology and pledge not to repeat the activity....
“Some in Washington will think that such a strong commentary to open the UN General Assembly targeting only the US is now starting to look a bit like piling it on ... after all, China, Russia, and India all spy, and so does Brazil,” said Eric Farnsworth, vice-president of the Council of the Americas.
“By continuing to focus on the matter so publicly, she is creating conditions that will be very difficult to meet in terms of restoring the status quo ante with the U.S....”
Read more about this article here.
