From an article concerning the trial of Markus Wolf, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency (HVA) of the German Democratic Republic.As a recent NY Times article points out, increasing numbers of East Germans are beginning to regret having turned their country over to the West German capitalists in 1990.In light of that, it is interesting to consider what the facts below tell us about "West German justice".
"In the course of the trial, it came to light that the HV A had ob-
tained from its sources in the west, documents concerning NATO's
plans for aggression against the Warsaw Treaty nations, including
detailed plans for the deployment of nuclear weapons. That this
knowledge in the hands of the intended victims of this attack may
have brought Europe back from the threshold of a nuclear catastro-
phe did not hamper the court from cynically and degradingly com-
menting on the peace stabilizing functions of GDR intelligence ga-
thering.
"Among the motions made by the defense was one to grant the defense
the same right as the prosecution, to inspect HV A files pertai-
ning to concrete western secret services' activities for their
respect for human rights. Another was to have Dr. Klaus Kinkel,
(former BND President, and current Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Mi-
nister of the FRG) called to testify on concrete (illegal) BND ac-
tivities inside the FRG and/or it's support for Iraq.
"In spite of the court's rejection of these motions, it was unable
to obscure the fact that the HV A did not violate human rights as
part of its intelligence gathering activities. Contrary to the
image sought to be portrayed in the courtroom, the conduct of mem-
bers of the HV A met the highest of international standards in
this field. "Western experts concede that Wolf's agency was pro-
fessional and did not conduct assassinations or use brutal tac-
tics." (ob cit Jackson)
"As much cannot be said of nearly every intelligence service of the
leading western states. Their record of coups d'état, assassina-
tions of heads of governments and opposition leaders both at home
and abroad, (e.g. the CIA), the establishment and training of
death-squads (e.g. the CIA and Mossad), the massive support of in-
telligence and police services of terrorist regimes (e.g. the CIA,
BND) or the bombing attack carried out against defenseless, envi-
ronmentalist demonstrators (e.g. the SDECE of France) is not only
well known but is often even a source of their pride in trade."
None.
