The federal government doubts the US claim that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory.
According to information provided by SPIEGEL, the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) last week asked all partners of the five eyes intelligence network, which includes the services of great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, for evidence of the laboratory thesis disseminated by the US government. None of the intelligence agencies wanted to confirm the thesis, which, in addition to Trump, is spreading primarily TO US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Previously, the NDR had already reported on doubts about the “Five Eyes” intelligence paper, in which China was said to have been sharply criticized for its handling of the Corona crisis. It may be a targeted hoax.
Pompeo had claimed last weekend that he had seen “overwhelming evidence” for the lab thesis. Earlier, President Trump had fueled speculation about it.
In an internal memo for Defense Secretary Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the US claims are classified as a calculated diversionary maneuver. The US president is using laboratory theory to “distract from his own mistakes and channel American anger toward China,” the confidential dossier states.
Scientists believe it is much more likely that Sars-CoV-2 was transmitted from bats to humans via another animal and by wildlife trafficking. China had therefore banned the trade in wild animals under a new law in March.
Four to six weeks delay in the fight against Covid-19
However, according to the BND, China urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to delay a global warning after the outbreak of the virus. On January 21, during a phone call with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, asked to withhold information about human-to-human transmission and to delay a pandemic warning.
According to the BND, China’s information policy has lost four to six weeks worldwide to fight the virus.
