Minister Ronald Plasterk of Internal Affairs thinks it is not really a bad thing as the American intelligence service NSA Dutch spies. “That Dutchman could also be a hardened terrorist,” said Plasterk in the Second Chamber.
The fight against terrorism is a joint fight, according to Plasterk, who is also the ‘good contacts’ of the Netherlands with the NSA stressed. In addition, Plasterk that the U.s. law actually does not prevent non-Americans in the holes are held, just as the Dutch law of the intelligence forbids to foreigners to keep an eye on. “I can’t guarantee that the Dutch intelligence agency in any other country, no special efforts,” said the minister.
That is not to say that Plasterk has no objections to the activities of the intelligence service. So there is, according to the minister, a matter of ‘great asymmetry’ between the treatment of Americans and non-Americans by the American intelligence services. It is for those services much easier for non-Americans to listen to than to get Americans to listen. “That can lead to a situation where you say: yes, so we do not want to deal with each other as allies.” If espionage is noted, then are there countries addressed, says Plasterk.
The minister feels, however, what is for an appointment with the USA to each other’s nationals will not needlessly and on a large scale, to spy on, such as D66 proposed. Plasterk is here in exploratory talks about. The VVD wants to capture that Dutch people are the same protection against eavesdropping by the NSA enjoy as Americans themselves.
Plasterk said, further, that in the Netherlands it is not easy to get people to drain: as, it is currently still not allowed to metadata over wired communications to collect and analyses, although there is legislation in the works to change that.
The Dutch intelligence services there are in any case convinced that the collection of metadata is necessary, as appears from the words of PVV Mp Louis Bontes. “During a technical briefing of the security services, they have convincingly made clear the need to meta-level, to collect data,” said Bontes, “so then, with keywords targeted to terrorism.” Bontes was censured for that comment, because that technical briefing, a secret session was.
SP Member of parliament Ronald van Raak wanted the minister, and the Americans strictly should also speak about the spionagepraktijken. “We have to be in the public away,” said Of Touch. “We have to say: this we can take as allies not to accept each other.” Plasterk says, however, prefer to await the outcome of a discussion that the European Commission carries out with the U.s. government.
Also profile) liberal party (VVD) expressed concern about the practices of the NSA. “It hurts as an ally do this,” said VVD Member of parliament, Klaas Dijkhoff. “You expect restraint.” The ‘impudence’ of the spionagepraktijken makes the party worry, said Dijkhoff. The PVV said properly to fear that too much attention to privacy in the fight against terrorism would be detrimental. “It must be in balance,” said Member of parliament Louis Bontes.
Recently said NSA onthuller Glenn Greenwald in The newspaper soon, with revelations about espionage in the Netherlands to come. Plasterk said in the Room not to know about what kind of revelations it would go.
Update, 12:49: this article was initially the quote: “I can’t say that I do not want to Dutch citizens look’ of minister Plasterk. The literal quote is: “I want to also be careful in the wording, for example, to say: yes, but, it is never allowed to Dutch citizens are looked at.’ The article is updated accordingly.
The comments of Bontes about the collection of metadata.