Edward Snowden issues statement on Wikileaks
 

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden blasted the Obama administration and claimed he had more information to release, even though it is starting to appear his relations with countries who initially backed him are being increasingly strained.

Snowden is still believed to be staying in a transit area at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and is asking for asylum in several countries, including Russia, China, Brazil, India and Ireland.

In a statement to WikiLeaks, Snowden accused the Obama administration of deception in a campaign to prevent him from finding political asylum and of leaving him a stateless person by revoking his US passport.

Snowden said that he was free and could continue to publish information that serves the public interest. However, he does seem to think that some US spooks are going to bump him off.

"No matter how many more days my life contains, I remain dedicated to the fight for justice in this unequal world. If any of those days ahead realize a contribution to the common good, the world will have the principles of Ecuador to thank," he said.

There are signs his relationship with Ecuador are being tested. The government, which reportedly gave him a temporary travel pass, has now said that it can't give him asylum until he gets to Ecuador.

A government spokesperson said that giving Snowden a temporary travel pass to fly to Moscow was "a mistake on our part" and that Snowden was now Russia's problem. Ecuador was not responsible for getting him to Ecuador.

In his Wikileaks statement, Snowden lashed out at US president Barack Obama and vice president Joe Biden for pressing Ecuador to turn him away.

"This kind of deception from a world leader is not justice, and neither is the extralegal penalty of exile," he said.

Snowden said that while the public has cried out support of his shining a light on the NSA revelations, the government of the USA responded with an extrajudicial man-hunt costing him his family, freedom to travel, and right to live peacefully without fear of illegal aggression.

Curiously, according to Reuters, Russian Tsar Vladimir Putin said Snowden could stay in Russia on the condition that he stops his work aimed at harming America. Supporters would argue it is not America in general he is harming, but its secretive spying organisations like the NSA.

Putin said he suspected that Snowden would continue leaking information because "he feels himself to be a human rights activist".

While this might seem odd at first, it's really not when you consider that Snowden sees himself as a human rights advocate while Putin sees himself as the Tsar of all Russias. Tsars don't usually get on with human rights activitists even if they are revealing details about other countries. Besides, Snowden might have access to American dirt on Putin which he would prefer was not revealed.

The best course for Putin is to say Russia is not working with Snowden, but add that he has no intention of handing Snowden over to the United States.

"Russia has never given up anyone to anybody and does not plan to. And nobody ever gave anyone up to us," Putin said.

To put Putin's comments in some perspective, he has previously defended the use of government surveillance similar to those revealed by Snowden's Prism leaks.

http://news.techeye.net/security/edw...t-on-wikileaks