CoE Assembly President Brasseur to EuroFora: Ukraine not to overshadow Internet Spy issue

*Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/-The still on-going, recent incidents around Ukraine, since the end of February and March, despite their importance, should not overshadow Crucial issues which affect most European Citizens' Human Rights, Economy and even State Security, after the recent and current revelations on Mass Internet Spying by Foreign a.o. Secret Services, agreed in substance the New CoE Assembly's President, Anne Brasseur from Luxembourg, former Chairwoman of the Liberal Group of MEPs in Strasbourg's PanEuropean Parliament (which includes also Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, etc), in reply to a relevant "EuroFora"s Question at her 1st official Press Conference, which has just Opened an early Spring 2014 Plenary weekly Session, by deciding to include Both these two Topical Big Issues, with last-minute Changes to its initial Agenda.

This concerned a sudden spectacular GeoPolitical "'U-turn" at CoE's PanEuropean Assembly (PACE), which had apparently changed Focus from a still Topical Issue that Unites Europeans, could protect Citizens' Rights and strengthen their Digital Economy, questioning some notorious abuses by USA's NSA and others'  excessive and dangerous Internet Spying revealed recently by WhistleBlower Edward Snowden (who found Asylum in Russia, after crossing China), towards another one, compeletely different : Ukraine's subsequent events, which, despite its importance, obviously risks to Divide Europeans, weaken their Economy and/or destablize Peace, questioning, at least until now, much more Russia, at least as far as Crimea's controversy is concerned for the time being.

To the point that several MEPs asked PACE  to impose one or another Sanction against Russian MEPs, raising an issue that wil be discussed by CoE's Monitoring Committee on Tuesday and voted Wednesday, for a Plenary public Debate on Thursday, as its Chairman, Austrian Socialist MEP Stefan Schennach, told "EuroFora" later Today, while a majority at CoE's Committee of Ministers last week in Strasbourg, criticized the recent developments at Crimea.

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 - "EuroFora" reminded mainly the fact that, as it had been Initially Scheduled, since last January 2014, the  Agenda of the PanEuropean watchdog for Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law's Assembly, was due to focus on April particularly on the Need to Protect Citizens' Rights and Freedoms, which are notoriously facing currently manifold Threats, as almost everyday Internat Users, and to address the thorny issue of Mass Surveillance on Citizens, Businesses, Public Administrations and even Political Leaders (as f.ex. it had started to be revealed since last October 2013's EU Heads of State/Government Summit in Brussels, affecting even German Chancellor Merkel, etc :Seee "EuroFora"s NewsReports then from Brussels, f.ex. :...., and still continued, just a few Days ago, with American, WhistleBlower Snowden's latest denonciation about the existence of Serious Risks against Personal, Private, Family, Professional and Socio-Political Life of Citizens by Spying, from USA's NSA Authorities and/or others, on mere Internet "Meta-Data", marking everyone's TeleCommunications). But, suddenly, after the 22 February - 16 March 2014 GeoPoliitically important, Regional incidents in Ukraine, from Kiev up to Crimea, etc., pushed the CoE's Assembly to apparently Re-Focus the main thrust of its Spring Plenary Session obviously much more, (if not even Exclusively) on the Ukraine, Crimea a.o.such differrend issues, involving particularly Russia.

In this Context, f.ex.mainstream MEP Pieter Omtzigt's landmark Draft Report on "Internet Mass Surveillance"and "WhistleBlowers", including mainly Snowden, etc., was "Postponed" for an unknown yet Date in the Future, after a PACE Committee meeting initially scheduled at Moscow on March in order to discuss a Draft Report prepared by the new Head of the German Delegation to CoE's Assembly, CDU MEP Axel Fischer, on the protection of Internet Users and eventually try to contact Snowden there, (as he had told "EuroFora"), was suddenly transferred, instead, to .. Paris,  while even experienced Kimo Sasi's' Report on "New Failures to Cooperate with the ECHR" was pushed from Wednesday to Late Thursday this week, i.e. at a moment when most MEPs are preparing to leave Strasbourg, (etc).

=> .."Does this mean that it (...) has been pushed aside, comparted ti the other issues, or can we hope that in the foreseable Future, or even this Week, it can be dealt in a way which attracts CoE's and People's Interest, since it affects both Human Rights and Economy, Security, Politics, rtc.,  "EuroFora" asked Brasseur in conclusion.
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    - "Thank you.  Internet, of course, it's going to be one among our (CoE's)Major Concerns", CoE Assembly's new President immediately ensured, in her Reply to "EuroFora"s Question.

     - "Internet is a tool which didn't exist when the (PanEuropean) Convention (on Human Rights) was set up, and Now we (CoE) have to look how, on one hand, the Free Flow of Information, the Acces to Information, is still in line also with the Protection of the Private sphere".

    - "That was easier before Internet has been invented, but Now it's more and more Difficult", she Warned.

    =>  - "So, what we (CoE)said is that now, we should really have a Revision of all our Texts and also on the Convention (on the Protection of Personal Data), which exists, but which is Outdated".

    -"But, there, I think that there must be Cooperation between Countries not only of the CoE, but also a Broader approach, (f.ex.) also with the U.N.", she pointed out, shortly  after meeting, just a few Days ago, with UNO's Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, on the occasion of other outstanding issues. (A Key-point, developed also further as German mainstream MEP Axel Fischer's Report  on Internet User Protection : Comp. ....)

    - "Also, on my Report  on Democracy and Internet (concerning mainly It's potential to ReVitalize Parliamentary Democracy, etc., Comp. "EuroFora"s NewsReport :..... ), I suggested top have a White Paper on this matter, and to Work with All StakeHolders Together", Anne Brasseur reminded.

    + "And the (Fact that ) Mr Omtzigt's Report (on Internet Mass Surveillance)  has (indeed) been Postponed, (as "EuroFora" had observed :  Comp. Supra), has nothing to do with that" and doesn't mean at all  "that We (CoE) wouldn't be interested", she ensured.

    >>>  - "On the Contrary, we (CoE), really have to Continue to Go Deeper in this Debate", PACE's President stressed, in conclusion to her Reply to "EuroFora"s Question.

     - F.ex., among other relevant developments, "I've just told that the (CoE Assembly's competent Sub-Committee is going to meet on May in Turkey", Brasseur pointed out, reminding the fact that she had just said earlier at another reply to a differend question by a Turkish collegue that "the SubCommittee on Media will go to Turkey on the 12th and 13th of May,  precisely in order to hold  a Debate, in Istanbul, on Freedom of Access to Internet, on Freedom of Press, etc".

    - "That's positive", but "I appeal to the Turkish Authorities ...to refrain from breaching CoE's Values, .... (that,on the contrary), we should all support"- CoE naturally stands for Freedom of Access to Information, including to the Internet (for which there is another, special PACE Report to be debated and voted this week in Strasbourg), "and for Freedom of Press, because there can't be Democracy without it. That's why I firmly condemned the Tweeter Ban" by the Turkish Authorities (during the recent Local Elections, notoriously held in Controversial conditions : Comp. : ....), as she added on that occasion.

    - On the contrary, in Egypt, even the current, transitory Military regime doesn't block Internet Websites, unlike what happens frequently in Turkey, told earlier to "EuroFora" a young Dissident Blogger and Journalist, Shahinaz Abdelsalom, who has taken an active part to the Mediterranean "Spring" which spread recently various Popular pro-Democracy Movements from Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt up to Syria, recently approaching Turkey. Speaking before the forthcoming, June 2014, crucial Presidential Elections, where Egyptian General Alsisi will face another Candidate, that she finds close too her ideas, while knowing that many will "boycot" that vote, the young Internet Press worker reminds, laughing, that the only time that Web Access was Blocked, back in the Past of former President Moubarak's era, in a vain attempt to Stop Mass Demonstrations, then, suddenly, on the contrary, all "the People went out to the Streets", and that regime was toppled over in a few days, between the end of January and the beginning of February 2011, she reminded.

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("DraftNews", as already sent, earlier, to "EuroFora"s Subscribers/Donors. A more accurate, full Final Version might be published asap). 

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