German bugging devices hurt Syrian opposition

The human rights organisation Amnesty International last week accused 17 European states, including Germany, of playing a role in the oppression of protest movements in various Arab countries by exporting weapons and wiretapping technology. The former head of the foreign desk at Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper, Clemens M. Hutter, accuses exporting nations of double standards in the daily Wiener Zeitung: "Weapons for Libya, Syria and Saudi Arabia have clearly been put to use against these countries' own populations. Of the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who untiringly demonstrate against the tyranny of the Assad clan, 3,000 have paid with their lives. Yet Syria is still being supplied with the best bugging technology on the market - made in Germany. Consequently, unlike in Tunisia or Egypt the Syrian resistance can't organise itself electronically. Officially Germany proclaims its sympathy with the Syrian struggle for freedom. It just happens to be the case that technology sales also secure jobs at home."

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