New Leak from WikiLeaks: NSA Spied on Ban-Ki Moon and Angela Merkel to Protect American Oil Companies

The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange has released a new damning document detailing how the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States of America spied on world leaders around the world.

The documents from the whistleblower alleged that the NSA intercepted communications between the United Nation’s Secretary General-Ban-Ki Moon and the German Chancellor-Angela Merkel. The classified documents also include allegations of the NSA spying on Israeli, Italian and French leaders. Japanese, European Union (EU) Trade Ministers, and the United Nation’s refugee agency were also said to have been spied by the NSA.

The German International Broadcaster Deutsche Welle reports that the NSA spied on these leaders and organizations while they were discussing wide range of issues such as climate change, banking, and sensitive trade issues, amongst others.

RELEASE: TOP SECRET NSA recording of private meeting between UN’s Ban KiMoon and Germany’s Angela Merkel https://t.co/RwOVWzozrQ @UN

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) February 23, 2016

In 2008, Mr Ban and Chancellor Merkel reportedly met to discuss climate change. The two also discussed their views on President Barack Obama’s commitment towards the highly controversial climate change issue on the world stage. It is said while this was going on, NSA allegedly intercepted and bugged the discussion.

After spying this meeting, NSA again listened in on UN climate talks in order to protect its oil interests. Assange said in a statement accompanying the released documents, the United States did all these in order to protect its oil companies.

“Today we showed that UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon’s private meetings over how to save the planet from climate change were bugged by a country intent on protecting its largest oil companies,” Assange said.

Assange also revealed that the United States had signed an agreement with the UN never to spy on its activities, and that it will be interesting how the UN will respond to this breach of trust by the American government. He also added that the administration in Washington poses a very great risk to everybody living on this planet.

RELEASE: NSA intercepts of UN Sec Gen Ban KiMoon, Merkel, Netanyahu, Sarkozy & Berlusconi https://t.co/XbwyNSwTXg pic.twitter.com/ZpsX5JowXv

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) February 23, 2016

He said “The U.S. government has signed agreements with the UN that it will not engage in such conduct against the UN–let alone its Secretary General. It will be interesting to see the UN’s reaction, because if the Secretary General can be targeted without consequence, then everyone from world leader to street sweeper is at risk.”

Apart from Chancellor Merkel and the United Nations, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the former Italian Prime Minister  Silvio Berlusconi, were also spied on. According to that part of the released document, Netanyahu asked  Berlusconi for help in dealing with the United States. This appeal by the Israeli PM towards the Italian PM happened in 2010.

@wikileaks Our Politicians have more respect for Israeli PM than our President. Who pays who? Our country will ? down because of Israel.

— San Patriot (@Th30therside) February 23, 2016

It has been reported that Netanyahu was concerned by the lack of direct contact with Obama in response to Israel’s illegal settlement buildings on the occupied territories of the Palestinian people. Netanyahu was allegedly concerned that the Palestinians would use the Israeli illegal settlements to block peace talks or “advance unrealistic claims,” of which the Obama administration might have some sort of soft spot towards the Palestinians.

Another secret document also detailed a conversation between PM Berlusconi and former French President-Nicolas Sarkozy, in which the French leader warned his Italian counterpart that the Italian banking system was about to “pop like a cork.”

RELEASE: New NSA docs show the US explicitly targetted phones of the UN refugee agency heads @refugees #UNHCR https://t.co/If3gW239MO

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) February 23, 2016

WikiLeaks also alleged that the NSA spied on Japanese and EU Trade Ministers. The EU Trade Ministers were reportedly discussing sensitive World Trade Organization issues with the Japanese, when the NSA again plugged in its devices to listen to the conversation.

These damning revelations by WikiLeaks are not the first time the whistleblower has made public the efforts of the United States spying on its allies. In the past, Assange has made public a bulk of documents detailing how the United States is going about spying on governments, organizations and individuals around the world.

Julian Assange has sought political asylum at the embassy of Ecuador in London since 2012. He is wanted in Sweden to face sexual assault charges. He has consistently denied the charges, saying they are political motivated due to his release of secret spying activities of the United States.

This month, a UN panel issued a non-binding legal opinion that said Assange had been subjected to arbitrary detention, and he should be allowed to walk free and be given compensation. However, the findings have been rejected by UK and Swedish prosecutors.

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