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Strauss-Kahn: US manhunt after Snowden has nothing to do with fight against terrorism

Dominique Strauss-Kahn underlined that this issue is extremely topical today, because it reflects the tendencies of years to come
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS
Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

PARIS/ST. PETERSBURG, July 31 (Itar-Tass) - The manhunt after ex-employee of U.S. security services Edward Snowden by U.S. authorities obviously has nothing in common with struggle against terrorism, former International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director and French economist Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in an interview with ITAR-TASS news agency and Rossiya-24 TV channel. “The top issue in this affair is not the fate of Mr. Snowden, but the practice, which he exposed,” Strauss-Kahn said.

“We will learn, whether it is truth or not, and I don’t want to look ahead, but if everything is confirmed, such actions are absolutely unacceptable,” Strauss-Kahn noted.

In his words, he understands the response of many Americans, who believe that their compatriot, having had the access to state affairs, should not violate the obligations he assumed. “On the other hand, I had a feeling that today the world we live in needs people able to raise alarm,” Strauss-Kahn said. “Particularly through new technologies and new types of communication and spying the risk to make a mistake becomes very high,” he noted.

“In this particular case a serious mistake was made, because the struggle against terrorism can sometimes justify brutal actions, anyway, decisive, but the point is not in the struggle against terrorism in this issue,” the French economist indicated. “I do not have any special information, but, judging by what I’ve heard, the United States could wiretap embassies of European countries and probably the Russian Embassy,” he indicated. “So, it happens that, on the one hand, there is a U.S. citizen, for whom the freedom is the main human value, and, on the other hand, there are countries believing that actions confirmed by the information he exposed, are beyond all possible frameworks,” Strauss-Kahn pointed out.

This issue is extremely topical today, “because it reflects the tendencies of the years to come when the equipment, information technologies and information search technologies will play a more important role than before,” Dominique Strauss-Kahn believes.

The French expert named “a realistic interpretation” the assumption that European countries denied asylum to Snowden in order not to spoil relations with the United States. “But, on the other hand, it is just that your country as well as my country should observe the international law. The top issue is not the fate of Mr. Snowden, but the practice that he exposed is in the focus of the situation,” Strauss-Kahn said in conclusion.