US journalist Glenn Greenwald, who broke the story on NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, said New Zealand officials are spying on their citizens, a charge that has provoked a harsh response from NZ Prime Minister John Key.
Greenwald, who is in New Zealand to attend Kim Dotcom’s much anticipated “Moment of Truth” event Monday, said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) had been snooping on New Zealanders as part of the so-called Five Eyes pact between the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
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In June 2013, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras were given
thousands of classified NSA documents from former intelligence
contractor Edward Snowden. Greenwald said he has spent
several months pouring over the files in an effort to determine
whether GCSB broke the law and spied on citizens.
Greenwald told the Nation television program: "The government
does engage in extraordinary amounts of analysis of metadata –
meaning who’s talking to who, for how long, where they are when
they speak – on a massive indiscriminate scale, not just
internationally but of New Zealanders as well."
According to Greenwald, New Zealand spends a disproportional part
of its budget on electronic surveillance.
"Every single thing that the NSA does... involves NZ
directly," he said.
Prime Minister Key, who said last year that he would resign if
the GCSB was proven to have carried out domestic mass
surveillance, passionately denied there had been large-scale
spying on New Zealanders.
"There is no mass surveillance of New Zealanders by GCSB and
there never has been mass surveillance of New Zealanders by
GCSB," he told reporters on Saturday.
"One of the problems is when you hack into people's
information and you steal it sometimes you get part of the
information but not all of the information."
The prime minister said he would respond to Greenwald's
allegations on Monday "in the fullness of time."
“But mark my words, I'm right and he's wrong and I'll prove
I'm right." Key said, then attempting to belittle Greenwald
by calling him “Dotcom's little henchman.” Greenwald
responded to the attack, tweeting: "Does the Prime Minister
think that bizarre ad hominem attacks against me will make the
facts – and the documents – disappear?"
Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, who is wanted by US law enforcement
officials for alleged copyright infringement, this year launched
his own political party, which aims to give the Internet
generation “a voice in politics.” He has also been
outspoken over New Zealand’s alleged surveillance of citizens’
communications.
Taken together, New Zealanders are gearing up for what promises
to be an interesting Monday, with Greenwald scheduled as a guest
speaker at Dotcom's highly anticipated event, and WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange participating via video hookup from his
years-long residence at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
Watch us make history on Monday, Sept 15 at the Auckland Townhall (free entry) - The Moment of Truth. pic.twitter.com/dqk866p2Gj
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) September 12, 2014
During the event, Kim Dotcom has promised to reveal information
on "the sordid workings of Hollywood."
Whether these latest assertions involve the prime minister or the
government remains to be seen.
Key told TV3's Firstline program he had not lost "a moment's
sleep" over Monday’s planned announcement.
"He's just another guy that wants to throw a bit of
mud,” Key said. “He's just another guy who wants to
create a conspiracy theory."
However, the promised revelations are already causing a stir in
New Zealand’s political circles, especially with elections just
one week away.
Labour Party leader David Cunliffe told reporters that if
Greenwald did reveal evidence that shows Key had misled the
public, it would be "extremely serious."
"I would be extremely upset if the pledges that have been
made to New Zealand around our freedom from mass surveillance
prove to be false,” Cunliffe said. "If the Prime Minster
of the country has lied to New Zealand, I expect New Zealanders
to react in the ballot box.”