Brazil seeks to talk with Snowden

The Brazilian government will ask Russia for permission to speak with American whistleblower Edward Snowden to gain more information about US and Canadian spying activities on Brazil.

Brazilian Senator Ricardo Ferraco, who is also the deputy chair of a parliamentary inquiry into the spying activities, announced that Brasilia is to ask for an authorization for a teleconference with Snowden during a meeting with the Russian ambassador next week.

“Next week, we will visit the Russian ambassador to obtain authorization and see if we can do a teleconference and question Snowden directly, since he is the primary source,” Ferraco stated.

Brazilian authorities launched the parliamentary inquiry after reports were published revealing that both the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied extensively on the country.

On October 6, Brazilian Globo television published a report showing that CSIS spied on Brazil’s Mining and Energy Ministry and had made a detailed outline of the ministry’s communications including phone calls, emails, and internet traffic.

Ferraco expressed disappointment over Canada’s lack of responding to the surveillance disclosures.

“Up to now we are extremely frustrated with the insufficient responses offered by Canada… There is nothing concrete or substantial [in their response]… It’s like they were running away from the subject, from their behavior,” Ferraco said.

The inquiry’s chairperson, Senator Venessa Grazziotin, commented on the NSA spying and said, “This action is the opposite to what you expect from a country that claims to be an economic and political partner of Brazil.”

“The information that has been disclosed shows that interest is economic. There is no way to justify the action spy in the Brazilian government with the argument ‘combating terrorism.’”

In response to the disclosures, Brazil has announced that it plans to bypass the US-centric internet, with measures including storing data locally and to lay underwater fiber optic cable directly to Europe and all the South American nations in order to create a network free of US surveillance.