Germany’s Green Party member of parliament Hans-Christian-Ströbele returned from Moskow yesterday with a letter by Edward Snowden [pdf]. The purpose of his letter (co-signed by Ströbele as “witness”) is completely unclear. Ströbele allegedly visited Snowden to ask him whether he would testify in an parliamentary inquiry board on the circumstances under which German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone had been tapped for a decade by the NSA. Addressing it “to whom it may concern” is confusing since Ströbele had suggested that he would write to Angela Merkel. Bloomberg characterized the letter as combination of “naiveté, victimhood, and Assange-like narcissism.”

“I hope that when the difficulties of this humanitarian situation have been resolved, I will be able to cooperate in the responsible finding of fact regarding reports in the media, particularly in regard to the truth and authenticity of documents, as appropriate and in the accordance with the law.

I look forward to speaking with you in your country when the situation is resolved, and thank you for your efforts in upholding the international laws that protect us all.”

Well, the humanitarian situation won’t be resolved. The German government could possibly grant Snowden safe conduct to Germany where he could then testify. This would lead to a serious diplomatic crisis in the more and more tensed relationship between Germany and the U.S. One should also remember that his plea for political asylum had been turned down by Germany’s Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich right away in summer when it was more opportune of the German government to side with NSA.

2 November 2013 @ 4:21 pm.

Last modified November 2, 2013.