The Brazilian government is not interested in investigating the NSA (National Security Agency) and, for this reason, it will not grant asylum to Edward Snowden, who denounced U.S. government spying, in an information exchange that would meet this goal.
Folha revealed today Snowden intention to collaborate with investigations about the NSA and, in return, be granted asylum in Brazil. The newspaper published the full text of the "Open Letter to the People of Brazil" that the former U.S. spy wrote and will send to Brazilian authorities.
According to Folha's investigation, the Foreign Ministry highlights as "positive" part of the letter in which Snowden calls for a mobilization in defense of privacy and basic human rights, which might be at risk because of actions such as the ones made by the NSA .
On the other hand, the Foreign Ministry stressed that Brazil respects the sovereignty of other countries and it does not intend to "payback" the United States. A presidential aide stressed that the Brazilian government could not enter this type of exchanging game, to grant asylum in order to receive information to investigate the actions of the U.S. spy agency.
Besides, the aide said, Brazil "has no interest in doing this kind of interference in the sovereignty of other countries" and "it will not do to them what they did to us." The Brazilian way, according to him, has always been publicly expressed.
Officially, the Presidential Palace has not yet spoken and it might not even speak about it because there is no formal asylum request from Snowden. President Dilma Rousseff was surprised with the information and mobilized the Foreign Ministry to define what position should be taken.
MOBILIZATION
Regarding the mobilization defended by Snowden, Foreign Ministry aides have reinforced that the Brazilian government is already working in this direction and it can count with his help, which will always be welcomed.
The Foreign Ministry emphasized that Brazil, from the beginning, made a point of condemning NSA actions considering them "unacceptable." President Dilma even canceled a state visit to the U.S. in reaction to the episode.
The Foreign Ministry also noted the president's initiative of negotiating with Germany a formalized resolution at the United Nations against American intelligence. The resolution will be voted on this week by the General Assembly of the organization.
The Brazilian government announced that Snowden's open letter requesting shelter in Brazil it does not formally fit the request for political asylum.
For the government, not even the request made by the American in July fit the requirement for asylum. On occasion, a request was sent by fax to several foreign embassies in Russia, when Snowden was temporarily at Sheremetyevo airport, in Moscow.
OPPOSITION
To the leader of the DEM Party in the House of Representatives, Ronaldo Caiado (GO), it does not make sense to grant political asylum to Snowden.
"I think there is nothing that dignifies this man so that Brazil gets involved with this issue at this time. This will bring more issues to Brazil in the international view than any benefit to put a stop to these espionage actions," he said.
"Brazil has to worry about developing their own technology system that is able to stand against these espionage actions that occur not only by the United States," added Caiado.
The Federal Police, which is investigating allegations that President Dilma and Petrobras had been investigated, has already formally requested Snowden's testimony. The request was made through the Foreign Ministry, responsible for contacting Russian authorities. But the police never got a response.
据巴西《圣保罗页报》12月17日报道,巴西政府已经拒绝了爱德华•斯诺登的避难请求,称不会调查美国的监控丑闻,也不会以提供避难换取情报。
斯诺登16日通过《圣保罗页报》发布《致巴西人民的公开信》,表达希望前往巴西寻求政治避难的意愿,同时表示愿意帮助巴西调查美国国家安全局的监控项目。巴西外交部表示拒绝。另外,由于斯诺登并未正式提交避难申请,巴西总统府没有做出回应。
斯诺登在公开信中呼吁保障隐私和基本人权,巴西外交部承认其“积极”意义,表示已经在这个方向进行努力,并且一直欢迎斯诺登提供帮助。巴西外交部同时强调说,巴西尊重他国主权,并且不打算“对付”美国。巴西总统罗塞夫的一名助手表示,巴西政府“对这样干涉他国主权没有兴趣,也不会以牙还牙报复美国。
英国《卫报》记者格伦•格林沃尔德9月1日披露,美国国家安全局曾监控巴西总统罗塞夫的电话、电子邮件以及总理助理的通信内容。罗塞夫要求解释,但美国未能给出满意答复。巴西曾通过外交部向俄罗斯官方递交申请,希望斯诺登提供证据,帮助调查,但没有收到任何答复。
巴西民主党领袖罗纳尔多•卡亚多反对斯诺登避难。他说:“这个人(斯诺登)的所作所为没有高尚到值得巴西现在卷入这件事的程度。从国际角度来看,参与此事给巴西带来的麻烦将比阻止监控行为带来的好处还要多。巴西应该专心发展自己的技术系统,对抗间谍行为。”