Brazil’s president condemns NSA spying
By Colum Lynch, Published: September 24
UNITED NATIONS — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday delivered a stinging rebuke of electronic espionage by the National Security Agency, telling a gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly that American eavesdropping constitutes “a breach of international law and an affront” to Brazil’s sovereignty.
America’s spying efforts pose a threat to democracy throughout the world, Rousseff said, as she proposed that the United Nations establish legal guidelines to prevent “cyberspace from being used as a weapon of war.”
“Without the right of privacy, there is no real freedom of speech or freedom of opinion, and so there is no actual democracy,” Rousseff said. And “without respect for [a nation’s] sovereignty, there is no basis for proper relations among nations.”
A series of disclosures about U.S. surveillance in Brazil — based on leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden — have caused a furor in that country. Earlier this month, Rousseff canceled a state visit to Washington over the revelations.