Talk of spies dangerous, says Clark

By HELEN TUNNAH, deputy political editor

Prime Minister Helen Clark has been accused of "unbecoming" behaviour after saying Auckland University academic Paul Buchanan had told a lie.

She also said Dr Buchanan, a political scientist and former United States Defence Department analyst, had indulged in a "smear" campaign against Security Intelligence Service chief Richard Woods and might be endangering the lives of New Zealand diplomats overseas in claims he made about spies in embassies.

The war of words between the two was sparked by the ongoing detention of Algerian Ahmed Zaoui, who has been declared a genuine refugee but remains in jail 14 months after arriving here and claiming asylum.

Mr Woods last March recommended a national security risk certificate be issued against Mr Zaoui as a threat to New Zealand's security.

The information Mr Woods relied on for declaring Mr Zaoui remains classified, but it is believed some of the material was provided by sources in France, where Algerian terrorist groups have been active and linked to bombings.

For months there has been public speculation about Mr Woods' potential links with French and Algerian intelligence services during his term as the New Zealand Ambassador in Paris from 1990.

Although Dr Buchanan in interviews has not labelled Mr Woods a "spy", he has asked if it was credible to think a diplomat would spend four years in Paris with accreditation for Algeria yet never meet an Algerian official in any capacity, even though an Algerian terrorist network was active in the city.

Yesterday, Helen Clark defended Mr Woods and said no New Zealand diplomat worked anywhere as a spy.

"To suggest that they do spy could actually place people serving in the field now in some danger.

"Mr Buchanan's comments are a lie, they are a smear, they are untrue.

"They are unworthy of someone employed at the University of Auckland."

Dr Buchanan said last night that he had publicly criticised the treatment of Mr Zaoui for a long time, and Helen Clark was attacking him in preference to dealing with the key issue, which was Mr Zaoui's ongoing detention.

"If anything, the smear is going the other way and that I think is unbecoming of a Prime Minister.

"All of the hot air blowing over one academic's comments is a little bit of overkill."

Dr Buchanan said New Zealand diplomats did have intelligence functions, but that was not to mean they were "spies" in a cloak-and-dagger sense. "I was referring to what are known as official cover intelligence gatherers."

The Government also said yesterday that it intended complaining to the International Commission of Jurists over a report by a New Zealand representative, barrister Michael Kidd, that said Mr Zaoui's detention was illegal.

Helen Clark said the report was woeful.

Dr Kidd yesterday defended his report, and said he was independent of Mr Zaoui's defence team.

Herald Feature: Ahmed Zaoui, parliamentarian in prison

Related information and links