Merkel supporter likens WikiLeaks to Stasi secret police

A senior parliamentarian in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition attacked WikiLeaks on Tuesday, likening the web service to the Communist saboteurs of the former Stasi secret police, dpa reported.

Hans-Peter Friedrich, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU) caucus in the German parliament, said: "No one has the right to damage our trust in the United States, which is needed to preserve peace and stability."

He charged that WikiLeaks' motive for publishing 250,000 secret US diplomatic dispatches was "making money and acting important."

"It's a kind of Stasi which I can't stand," he said, referring to the dirty tricks which the secret police practiced to discredit their opponents. The Stasi was shut down in 1989 when Communism collapsed.

Friedrich said damaging US interests indirectly harmed German interests too. The CSU is a sister party to Merkel's Christian Democrats.