Posted on 12/17/2004 6:58:25 AM PST by nypokerface
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations European headquarters, where a listening device was discovered in a ministerial meeting room, is probably rife with secret spying equipment, a U.N. security source said on Friday.
"It's like Swiss cheese," a U.N. security source told Reuters, referring to the Swiss Emmenthal cheese which contains holes.
"If we had the technnical means and staff for thorough searches, I'm certain that we would find one microphone after another. The U.N. in New York and Vienna are the same," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Marie Heuze, chief U.N. spokeswoman in Geneva, on Thursday confirmed the report by Swiss Television which said workmen had found a sophisticated bugging device during recent renovation of a room called the Salon Francais at the Palais des Nations.
But a U.N. inquiry had not established who planted the bugging device or when, she said.
The television said the device was found stashed behind wooden panels in the elegant room, known for its 1930s French art deco furniture, but Heuze declined to give further details.
Patrick Daniel Eugster, a Geneva-based security expert shown photos of the device, told the television the system appeared to be of Russian or East European origin.
Its size indicated it was three or four years old, before such circuits were miniaturized, he said. "It is very sophisticated piece of listening equipment," he added.
The embarrassing discovery comes as the Palais des Nations, formerly the League of Nations, undergoes a security overhaul, including massive new entry gates and concrete barriers.
The United Nations is spending nearly $40 million over three years to improve protection in Geneva in the wake of the August 2003 bombing of its headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 people including the top U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.
It also follows public charges last March by Clare Short, Britain's former international development secretary, that British intelligence spied on U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan ahead of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
U.N. officials said at the time the bugging, if true, violated international law and should be immediately stopped.
The Salon Francais room was used by foreign ministers from major powers -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- during private talks on Iraq in September 2003 following the U.S. invasion and occupation.
At least one delegation, including that of then French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, used the Salon Francais. "Several delegations used that room," said one source.
In Paris, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous said: "It is the United Nations that is responsible for the inquiry, which is in progress, and like everyone we await the results."
The room was also used last January during talks on global hunger attended by Annan, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French President Jacques Chirac.
Annan also met Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Cameroon President Paul Biya to discuss the disputed Bakassa Peninsula, talks during which the Salon Francais was also used.
It is adjacent to the hall where the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament holds weekly negotiations and is used by ministers who address the 66-member forum and often hold separate bilateral meetings.
Why would anybody care what they say?
Becuase once they say it, you can be absolutely certain they don't mean it. Until then, there may be some doubt. :-)
"Why would anyone care what they say?" Good point! Why are we still providing 25%(or more) of the yearly operating budget to a bunch of losers? Why are we still involved with this turkey?
""It's like Swiss cheese," a U.N. security source told Reuters, referring to the Swiss Emmenthal cheese which contains holes."
It's a good think Reuters provided this explanation, otherwise no one would have known what the UN guy meant. It's always important, in journalism, to explain concepts that may be beyond the common knowledge of the readership.
"It's like Swiss cheese," a U.N. security source told Reuters, referring to the Swiss Emmenthal cheese which contains holes"
Do they think we are that stupid, that the aveage American Joe does not know swiss cheese has holes in it?
But they are vigorously working to keep individuals from possessing guns.
The reporter is just showing off. It reminds me of the line in "Rundown" where Rosario Dawson says that they are in Brazil and they just call Brazil Nuts nuts. Emmenthaler is the official EU-approved name for the cheese.
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