NASSAU, Bahamas — Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said Wednesday that the Bahamian government will ensure that its relationship with the United States remains intact even if it discovers the controversial allegation that its National Security Agency (NSA) is recording and storing audio from every cellphone conversation in the Bahamas is true.
The government is expected to receive a report from the U.S. Department of State this week addressing the claim, said Mitchell during debate on the budget in the House of Assembly.
He said he received a report from the Bahamas Embassy in Washington on Tuesday advising that the U.S. Department of State is working on an official response to the government’s inquiries.
Mitchell said he has the responsibility to fight for the rights of the citizens of the Bahamas despite the power and size of the United States.
“The other word of caution that I would add is that this is the view of the government and this view does not go to the fundamentals of the relationship with the United States of America,” Mitchell said.
“We choose on the basis of available evidence to see this first as an allegation, and secondly, if true, as aberrant rather than a regular occurrence.
“For good or ill, we are joined at the hip. And we have to ensure that relations continue in all the spheres in which good work is done, rather than dwell on the one possible aberrant irritant in the relationship.”
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