Obama seeks to defuse Snowden row

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 27 Juni 2013 | 20.25

27 June 2013 Last updated at 09:14 ET
President Obama

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

President Obama "not going to be scrambling jets to get Snowden"

President Barack Obama says efforts to arrest US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden will be dealt with through routine legal channels.

"I am not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker," said Mr Obama, speaking on a visit to the West African nation of Senegal.

He also said he had not called China and Russia's presidents about the case.

Mr Snowden, who faces US espionage charges, flew to Moscow at the weekend and requested asylum in Ecuador.

"I have not called President Xi personally or President Putin personally and the reason is... number one, I shouldn't have to," Mr Obama told a news conference on Thursday.

"Number two, we've got a whole lot of business that we do with China and Russia, and I'm not going to have one case of a suspect who we're trying to extradite suddenly being elevated to the point where I've got to start doing wheeling and dealing and trading on a whole host of other issues."

He added: "My continued expectation is that Russia or other countries that have talked about potentially providing Mr Snowden asylum recognise that they are a part of an international community and they should be abiding by international law."

'Hypocritical behaviour'

Mr Obama also said the case highlighted significant vulnerabilities at the National Security Agency, the US electronic spying agency where Mr Snowden worked as a contractor until last month.

An Aeroflot plane heading to Havana at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg is at Moscow airport looking for Edward Snowden

The American president was speaking on the first leg of an African tour that will also take in South Africa and Tanzania. He will not visit Kenya, where his father was born, amid US concern over allegations that country's president fomented election violence.

Meanwhile, Ecuador's government said on Thursday that it had not processed Mr Snowden's asylum request because he had not reached any of its diplomatic premises.

Mr Snowden is wanted for leaking to the media that the US is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data under a surveillance programme known as Prism.

He fled to Hong Kong on 20 May before flying to Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport on Sunday.

Mr Snowden's case has caused a diplomatic spat, with the US accusing Russia and China of assisting the fugitive. Both nations deny the charges.

On Thursday, Beijing accused the US of "double standards" and hypocrisy on cyber security.

China's defence ministry said the Prism programme "has revealed the concerned country's true face and hypocritical behaviour".

Continue reading the main story

Transit zones: A legal grey area

  • The Sheremetyevo airport transit area is Russian sovereign territory, but Russia says that in staying there, Edward Snowden has not formally entered the country
  • Legally, an arriving air passenger may be said to "cross the border" only after clearing immigration, which would require an entry visa
  • If Russia allowed Mr Snowden to enter, it could implicate the state in helping a fugitive, analysts say
  • It is thought Mr Snowden may be staying at a complex of 47 basic "capsule" hotel rooms located in the zone

Although Russia has no extradition treaty with the US, Washington says it wants Moscow to extradite Mr Snowden without delay.

But Russia said the American, who turned 30 last week, was technically not yet under its jurisdiction because he had not passed through immigration.

Russia has denied reports that its secret police have questioned Mr Snowden, who has had his US passport revoked.

Venezuela has also said it would consider an asylum application from him.

He is charged with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence.

US officials have defended the practice of gathering telephone and internet data from private users around the world.

They say Prism cannot be used to target intentionally any Americans or anyone in the US, and stress that it is supervised by judges.

CLICKABLE

Hawaii

20 May: Snowden flies from Hawaii to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong

5 June: From Hong Kong, Snowden discloses details of what he describes as a vast US phone and internet surveillance programme to the UK's Guardian newspaper.

Moscow

23 June: Snowden leaves Hong Kong on a flight to Moscow. He is currently thought to remain airside at Sheremetyevo airport.

Cuba

From Moscow, Snowden could fly to Cuba, en route to Ecuador, which has said it is "analysing" whether to grant him asylum.

Venezuela

Venezuela had also been considered a possible destination for Snowden, however it is thought he would only pass through on his way to Ecuador.

Ecuador

Snowden is reported to have requested asylum in Ecuador, which previously granted haven to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in its London embassy.


Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Obama seeks to defuse Snowden row

Dengan url

http://ukberbaginfo.blogspot.com/2013/06/obama-seeks-to-defuse-snowden-row.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Obama seeks to defuse Snowden row

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Obama seeks to defuse Snowden row

sebagai sumbernya

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar

techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger