Huawei slams journal over spying claims

Huawei Telecom has formally protested to the Wall Street Journal over what it says is false report by the publication.
The Wall Street Journal published a report chronicling how the company technicians helped the Ugandan and Zambian security officials to spy on Opposition politicians.

The company, however, said the article was a fabrication aimed at tarnishing its reputation and threatening its businesses across the world.
In a August 16 letter, written by Steven A Friedman of Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP, the law firm representing the company, Huawei said the report that describes its alleged involvement with government cyber security forces in Uganda and Zambia is “neither a fair nor a responsible representation of Huawei’s legitimate business activities in these countries.”

“Huawei is, especially, disappointed in the article and video and radio podcast in light of the information Huawei provided to you during your research for this Article, including its e-mail communications from June 19,” the letter states.

The company said its explanations were ignored and Wall Street Journal continued with its publication which they knew was not true.
“Based on Huawei’s June 19 e-mail and other information it provided to you, it is reasonable to conclude that you knew that these sources were not reliable. As a result, and at a minimum, the journal published these false statements in reckless disregard of their veracity,” the letter states.

“The publication of these false statements has and will continue to damage Huawei’s reputation and business interests across the globe. Huawei reserves all rights and claims in this regard and will defend its conduct and reputation. We would be happy to discuss with you related to this matter,” it adds.

While both Uganda and Zambia denied the allegations of working with Huawei to secretly tap conversations and hack into the system, human right activists in Uganda say this is an indication that all is not well within government.

“The spirit is to curtail free flow of information by those who seem not to be running the government the right way. It is a very fragile environment we are in especially now that everything has been securitised and politicised. These surveillance put us in precarious situations, especially for us in the media because our sources feel very insecure to give us information,” Mr Robert Ssempala, the executive director of Human Rights Network for Journalists, said.

Mr Eron Kiiza, a human rights lawyer, said the effect of such spying leave sour taste on human right activists and defenders.
“People who have been communicating using social media and electronic devices will now begin watching what they say and begin thinking that they are not safe and it will turn to digital space not safe for anyone because the guns that have been on the streets have now been turned into eyes in people’s inboxes,” Mr Kiiza said.

Mr Joel Senyonyi, the spokesperson of People Power, a pressure group led by Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, said government is more scared now.
“President Museveni and his government are very fearful of People Power, so they are doing everything possible to slow us down, including infringing on our privacy. However, nothing they do will cut our speed, we’re coming after them like a ton of bricks. Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. President Museveni’s time is up, Uganda is ripe for change, and change is around the corner,” Mr Senyonyi said.

Ms Betty Ocan Aol, the leader of Opposition in Parliament, said the system is drunk with power and does all the impossible things to cling around.
“The spying on Bobi Wine is a clear indication of fear by the ruling party. When you are in power you get drunk. These people do the impossible things to Opposition with impunity. Time will come when they will regret all this when the same begins to be applied on them,” she said.

Ms Aol said the fact that government has resorted to foreign powers for support in denying Ugandans space to express themselves freely means that it has finally shown the nakedness of real dictatorship.

“If this spying was by the government of Uganda, it would be something different, but now to involve the Chinese to spy on us that is a characteristic of a dictatorship,” she said.

“The fact that people continue to agitate and demand means that government has failed in its obligation to Ugandans. When people spy on you, it’s either to kill you or destroy you or sometimes to intimidate you which is not right and I condemn it. Government is doing a lot of bad things on the opposition with impunity and Ugandans are watching and they are also getting to know the truth of the matter,” Ms Aol added

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